Fear
by TheWolfOfTheStars
Summary: PewDiePie, the Smosh team, and WolfOfTheStars get stuck in a game... and I'm bad at summaries... This is my first story, so sorry for OOCness/bad writing/Mary-Sueness. Oh, and WolfOfTheStars/Anika is my OC. She's completely made up. Hope you enjoy, and give me a review if you like it/ think it could be improved. By the way, the chapters are short. I'm warning you.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Fear**

**By TheWolfOfTheStars**

_Note: this is my first story, so it may not be the best. I hope you like it anyways... So here you go! _

Anika sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she finished yet another video. People just couldn't get enough of them, for some reason. Her username was WolfOfTheStars, nicknamed WotS. She made videos of herself playing RPGs and put them on YouTube. She preferred longer games with storylines, although she had played a few that didn't have one. Like Slender, for instance. It had been alright, but it bored her quickly. She'd liked _The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess_ a lot better. She wasn't as popular as, say, UberHaxorNova or TobyGames, but that didn't matter to her. She didn't want to be famous.

As she slowly and steadily worked through the mountains of homework that she'd left until Sunday night, her Skype beeped. Or was it a bloop? Whatever sound it was, she answered and wasn't surprised to see a familiar, grinning face.

"Felix! Hi!" she usually called him by his username (PewDiePie), but that seemed both too formal and too casual all at once on Skype. "How's Marzia?"

"She's good. What are you doing?"

"Just homework."

"Left it until Sunday night again?"

"Maybe..."

"I did that all the time. Don't worry about it, bro." He leaned back in his chair slightly. "I had the weirdest dream last night..." His gaze wandered around the room, and his eyes settled on something that Anika couldn't see. They widened, and he walked over to pick it up. He stared at it for a second. Then he came back to the computer screen and sat down. He looked shocked. Showing the object to Anika, he said. "Do you recognize this...?"

Anika's mouth fell open. A single, wispy-gray feather with a white star on it was in Felix's hand. She remembered giving this to him... But it couldn't have been real... could it?

Oh, but you, reader, don't know what happened. We shall have to go back to the beginning for you to understand...


	2. Chapter 2: What Just Happened?

_Author's Note: I forgot to say that I don't own anything but my OC and the plot/ideas in the last chapter. Sorry about that. Oh, and the next few chapters will be more like setting the scene. The real action won't begin until maybe chapter 5. And you can expect pretty frequent updates._

Anika "oomphed" as she fell flat on her face. Standing up, she looked around. She had no idea where she was or how she got there. All she remembered was sitting in bed, reading... a whirl of color and sound... and she was here. A simple glass box the size of a large room, beyond which was nothing but white. There was a glass door on one side, but she had a feeling that she shouldn't leave. Not yet.

She jumped as she heard a thud and a grunt, and whirled around to see Felix getting up, looking confused and disgruntled.

"Felix!" she said. Or at least, tried to say. Her tongue curled back on itself partway through, and she ended up with a choked gurgle coming out of her mouth.

Felix whipped around. His eyes widened and he tried to say something, but it seemed he too could not say what he wished. He tried again, but all he could do was make the same sound Anika had made.

Anika frowned. If they couldn't communicate... She tried again. "Pewdie?" A wave of relief broke over her as she heard the name come out right.

"Oh, good, we can talk. Do you have any idea what the fu-" he broke off at Anika's stern look. She didn't like swearing.

At the sound of two thumps, Anika turned around again. The Smosh team sat on the ground, looking a bit dazed. "What just happened?" Ian asked.

Anika's brain had been whirling around for an explanation, and now she thought she had an idea... If only she had a piece of paper...

And one appeared. She picked it up and tore it in half. A could of blue pixels floated upward from the torn paper, confirming her suspicions. "We're in a game..." she murmured to three astonished faces.


	3. Chapter 3: Thinking

"How on earth did you figure that out?" Pewdiepie asked.

"I had a hunch," WotS replied, "but I wasn't sure until I tore the paper. You saw those pixels, right?"

"How did you get that paper, anyway?" Anthony questioned.

I think the game needed us to know what's going on without coming out and saying it. It knew I had an idea, and what I needed to confirm it..."

"Wow... You're awesome," Pewdiepie said with a shake of his head (which is an awesome rhyme). "I wonder why we can't say names, though? I tried saying Apgthgl-" he broke off, frowning.

"I don't know why... I think we'll just have to get used to calling each other by our usernames from now on." WotS was thinking hard.

"What about us?" the Smosh team chorused.

"Simple! You be Smash and you be Smoosh." Pewdiepie looked pleased with himself.

"Why do I have to be Smoosh?" Ian complained.

"What do you want to be, then?" asked WotS.

"How about... Strike? I like it. It sounds cool."

Fine, be Strike then. Now, what do we do to get out of here?" WotS started pacing around the glass room, touching the walls here and there.

"Umm... maybe leave through the door?" Smash said in a tone that implied one and one made two.

WotS shook her head. "I have a feeling it'll be harder than that." She walked up to the door and tugged on the handle. The door didn't budge. "See?" She started pacing again, around and around. Stopping in the middle of the room, she said, "I just don't get it. If there's not a way out of here, then I'm not WotS."

At the sound of the last word, a laser gun-well, more like a laser cannon-came out of a wall and pointed directly at her. After a single second of pure silence, it shot.


	4. Chapter 4: The Wolf Of The Stars

_Author's Note: The chapters are getting longer now! And there's implied swearing in this chapter. Be warned. _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

WotS remembered a vague sensation of disembodiment. For a moment-or perhaps hours or weeks, for a disembodied thought has no sense of time-she didn't quite exist. Then, a slight draft of air and a gasp told her that she must exist, must have a tangible body. It felt strange, though... and very, very different from hers...

Opening her eyes, she blinked and stood. Looking up at-wait, up? Why was she so short? She glanced down at her feet and did a double take.

Paws, covered with fur and with curled claws at their ends, stared back at her. Taking a quick inventory of her body, she realized she wasn't herself anymore. She wasn't even human.

She was a wolf. A winged wolf.

She knew why it was a winged wolf. It was her username, after all. She was still shocked beyond belief, though.

"What the f*%#!?" said Strike, and Pewdiepie murmured something in Swedish.

WotS wished she could speak. She knew it probably wouldn't work, but she had to try. "Guys, I'm still me, you know." No luck. All that the others heard was an odd bark with a hint of a whine behind it.

WotS closed her eyes and let her mind drift around. How was she going to communicate with them? Tell them that she was fine? Suddenly she sensed something at the edge of her consciousness. Reaching out with her mind, she realized that it was not some_thing, _but some_one._

Pewdiepie's consciousness touched hers, and a clean wave of shock passed through WotS's mind, pulsing from his. Opening her eyes, she noticed that Pewdiepie had jumped when they had made contact. Perhaps...

_Can you hear me? _WotS spoke to him with her mind and was greatly relieved to hear him reply aloud, "Yeah..."

"Yeah, what?" said Smash.

"WotS can talk to us... Well, sort of. With her mind. I don't think we can answer back without talking, though."

WotS rolled her eyes ad expanded her consciousness to include the other two, and they stiffened when they heard her reply, _WotS is still here, you know..._

"We know that... Well, we still can't get out of here. Any suggestions?"

WotS sat down. _Pewdie, say your username. _

"Umm... Okay. Pewdiepie," he said.

At once, something popped out of the wall. But it wasn't a laser cannon. It was a robotic arm, holding out a laser gun. _That's probably for you, Pewds._

He gently took the laser from the arm, which retreated back into the wall with a jerk.

WotS grinned to herself. _This should be interesting..._

"What?"

_Shoot it, bro._

"At what?"

WotS started sniffing around. Being a wolf had its advantages. Stopping at a seemingly random spot, she said, _Here._

Pewdiepie aimed his laser at the spot WotS had indicated. A pie shot out of the end and landed on it. A moment later, the pie melted through the ground, leaving a key in its wake.

"This thing shoots _pies!?_ This is the best game ever!"

WotS rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling.

"There's three triggers on this thing. I just pulled a random one. I'll have to remember that the green one shoots acid pies." He tried the other two triggers, which shot normal pies and sticky pies with ropes connected, for climbing or pulling things down. "Hmm... looks like I'll need acid and glue refills, though."

WotS couldn't help it. She laughed in a wolflike way.

_(And yes, wolves can smile and laugh. At least in my story, anyway.)_


	5. Chapter 5: Welcome to Fear

_ Author's Note: I'm sick, so I could have done another chapter today, but I didn't really feel like it. The real action's starting in this one, so... yeah._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

After using the key on the door, they opened it slowly. It wasn't white that they saw through the doorway, though. A long corridor stood in front of them, partially lit by torches and lined with statues of armor.

Pewdiepie looked slightly nervous. He was probably reminded of a few _Amnesia_ custom stories involving long, creepy hallways. They'd never been beyond the screen, though. Glancing around, he said, "I wish I had Stephano with me."

_Oh, he'll probably show up, _WotS said with a wag of her tail. She was starting to get used to being a wolf. She'd have to work on the flying part, though. _Let's go._

They started forward, WotS in the lead, the Smosh team close behind. Pewdiepie was in the back, knocking the heads off of the armor, saying, "I don't trust you, I don't trust you, I don't trust you... Hey, a key!"

As he picked it up, they heard a roar. Turning back, they saw a Grunt running straight for them. Screaming, everyone ran as fast as the could the other way. After all, in their panic they had forgotten that they were in a game.

_How long is this hallway!? _WotS cried silently. Glancing back, she noticed the Grunt was getting closer and closer. Abandoning all but instinct, she she spread her wings and swept them downward. Instantly, she flew up toward the shadowy ceiling. At the same moment, the Grunt vanished with a puff of smoke.

"Oh... Oh, it was a poofer..." Pewdiepie shuddered.

_If I need practice flying, why not scare me into it? _WotS shakily landed. Her flight had felt awkward and yet natural. She was sure she'd get used to it in time. _I must say, I prefer practicing when i feel like it._

Strike gave her reply a weak smile. "I-I'll take the lead from now on," he said. WotS nodded and stepped aside.

A little while later, he jumped back, stumbling into WotS. They all knew why.

"TELEPORTING NAKED GUYS!" Pewdiepie was now in front of Smash, so he had seen what happened. "Why does that always happen?"

"The game hates us," replied Strike. "I thought you knew that by now."

"Still..."

_Come on, _WotS broke in. _Let's get moving. Pewdie, your turn in front. _He huffed but didn't say anything.

After about five more minutes, they finally came to a door, which was predictably locked. Luckily, Pewdiepie had for the key earlier.

They found themselves in a large, dimly lit entrance hall with large windows and ornate rugs adorning it. A fountain stood in the middle. It seemed to be during those empty hours of the morning when the night creatures have gone to sleep and the day creatures have not yet woken.

"Nice place. I'm guessing we can't leave, though," Smash remarked.

_You thought right, _WotS replied. She had walked over to the large door which she assumed was the exit. It was locked and covered in goo. _Pewdie, get over here._

He started toward the door, but before he got there, the ground trembled and everyone fell to the floor.


	6. Chapter 6: Splitting Up- Part 1

_Author's Note: I'm still sick, so I thought I'd get this chapter in now. It's another short one, sorry._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

WotS opened her eyes. Immediately, the memory of what had just happened flashed into her mind and she leapt to her paws. Judging her shoulder to be bruised rather than broken, she sprang into the air, almost fell again, and rose shakily into flight. Flying was not exactly an easy thing. She drifted through the entrance hall, looking for her companions. Rubble had fallen in front of the door from which they had come, and chunks of rock littered the floor. Luckily, no one seemed to be hurt.

Smash and Strike were by the place where there used to be a door, and Pewdiepie was about halfway between them and where WotS had been. The pie gun lay a few feet from him.

All three of the boys stumbled to their feet, looking dazed. Pewdiepie picked up his pie gun and inspected it. "It's not broken," he said, "but the acid's leaked out."

"We'll find some more then," Strike spoke as he brushed dust off of his clothes.

"Let's get going," said Smash.

There were three doors that weren't blocked: one up a set of stairs, one down a different set of stairs, and one directly across from their caved-in entrance.

"I'll go up," Pewdiepie said. "Unless you think we should stick together."

"No, splitting up is fine," replied Smash. "We'll get things done faster that way. Strike, we'll go that way." He pointed to the door across from them.

_I'll go down, then, _WotS said.

Perhaps they sensed her nervousness, for Pewdiepie said, "Don't worry about it. It's just a game, right?"

_Right. _She swallowed and padded down the stairs to the cold, dank cellar.


	7. Chapter 7: Splitting Up- Part 2

_Author's Note: I didn't like the way I wrote this, so I went ahead and revised it. It ended up a little longer than it was going to be. Anyways, hope you enjoy and all that._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

Pewdiepie watched as WotS disappeared into the gloom. _She'll be fine, _he told himself. But experience told him otherwise. Something would be after her.

He gave himself a mental shake. His job was to go upstairs.

After going through the door, he found himself in a hallway. It had three doors in it- two to the left, one to the right. Stairs were at the end of the corridor, but he thought he'd check these rooms first.

The first door to the left was locked, so he tried the second. He walked into a study with bookcases full of books about various scientific theories and discoveries, most of them about chemicals and acids. A desk, covered with a mess of papers, stood by the doorway. The papers were useless to him, all about different elements and how they could be mixed to create a diverse range of chemicals. He checked the drawers. Nothing.

Examining the bookshelves, he noticed a faint light coming from behind one of them. He pulled books off of the shelf until he came to one that moved, but didn't fall to the floor. With a heavy scraping noise, the bookcase creaked open. _Too easy._

Through the hidden doorway was a room. It looked like a lab. A key lay on a stained, burned table. He picked it up and inspected it. It didn't look big or fancy enough to be for the front door. He went back and tried it on the door on the left, the one he'd tried earlier. No luck. He tried it on the door on the right.

He was in a sparsely furnished bedroom. All that was there was a bed, a desk, a closet, and a dresser. He checked the desk and dresser drawers. Nothing of note. Opening the closet, he spotted another key.

Out the door and down the stairs he'd noticed earlier, there was a dining hall with large, elaborate windows and lavish silverware. "Hi, Mr Chair," he said.

"Hello, Pewdie," the chair replied, walking up to him. "What are you doing here? You usually are just sitting in front of your computer screen. How'd you get here?"

"It's hard to explain. I don't really know. Have you seen Stephano around?"

"No, I haven't. I think he mentioned something about a 'vacation from your constant screaming'."

"That sounds like him, alright. Where's Piggeh?"

"He's in the kitchen, 'hanging out'."

"Thanks."

"If you don't know _how_ you're here, could you at least tell me _why?_" Mr. Chair is not the smartest of beings, seeing as he's a chair. But he's always kind to Pewdiepie, and sometimes will even risk his own chair life to save him. Now, he looked rather confused. It was a look you saw on him often.

"Well, I don't know why either. But I do know that I'm here in the castle with WotS-"

"Oh, I like WotS. Once I heard her say that I was her favorite bro."

"...As I was saying, I'm here with WotS and the Smosh team."

"I've seen them around from time to time. They brought me with them once for a little while. They're nice."

"...As I was SAYING, we're here and we need to get out."

"So soon? Well, I don't know how to get out, but Piggeh might know."

"Thanks, Mr. Chair."

"You're welcome, Pewdie. And don't forget Chairmode!" He waddled back to where he had been sitting before Pewdiepie came in.

Pewdiepie nodded and walked over to the door of the kitchen. The key he had picked up earlier read "Kitchen', so he only assumed that this was where it went.

A fireplace stood against the wall to the right; to the left, Piggeh lay on the large, bloodstained table. "'Sup, Pewdie? I'm pumped, I'm so freakin' pumped!"

"Piggeh! Mr. Chair said you'd be in here."

"He was right. Hey, bro, why are you, like, here? You're usually just sitting on your a** in front of that old computer you got. Now you're really here. What's up with that?"

"I don't know, Piggeh. Do you know how I might be able to get out of this place?"

"Well, yeah. Through the door."

"It's locked and covered in goo."

"Oooh, tough luck. Well, I know the guy that used to live here always kept some acid in his lab in case that happened. As for the key... I think it's in the basement. Here's the key to the lab, but i can't help you with anything else." He tossed him a key that said, "Main Lab".

"Thanks, Piggeh," said Pewdiepie. As he left, he heard Piggeh say, "What, you're leaving now? You just found me, bro!"

"Sorry, Piggeh, but I have to get back to the others," he replied.

Through the only locked door that was left was a big lab, full of ingredients for various compounds and mixtures. A big pot of acid sat in the corner, a container on the table next to it.


	8. Chapter 8: Splitting Up- Part 3

_Author's Note: I feel like this chapter could have been better, but it's late and I don't know how I would fix it anyway. Enjoy, and don't forget to review. If you want. You don't have to, but it'd be nice if you did._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

Smash and Strike slowly opened the door, then relaxed slightly as they saw a long, well-lit hallway with many doors. They couldn't see the end of it. "Should we split up here, do you think? I take the doors on the right, you on the left?" Smash asked his companion.

"Sure." Strike walked up to the nearest door on the left and disappeared inside.

They found nothing of use in the rooms. They were small and sparsely furnished, holding a bed, a desk, perhaps a closet or a dresser. They had a few personal items in them. They looked like servant's quarters. The person who lived here must have been very rich to be able to have so many servants. No one was here now, though.

The last three doors at the end of the hallway were labeled. The one to the right was the dining room for the servants; to the left, a storage room that held brooms and other supplies. The one directly in front of them was the "Maintenance Room." The storage had an old, rusty key sitting on one of the shelves.

The maintenance room had pipes running around the room, popping out of the walls in seemingly random places. It had a little machinery, but nothing more than an odd contraption against the opposite wall with a lever on it. Strike glanced at his friend. "You think we should pull that?"

Smash nodded and did so. They listened, but they didn't hear anything. "Nothing. Well, it was probably a pretty good idea anyway."

"Yeah." They returned to the entrance hall. "I wonder how the others are doing."

"They're probably alright," replied Smash.

"Yeah." Strike sat down on the steps. "So...What now?"

They spent the rest of the time until Pewdiepie came back playing rock-paper-scissors.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Rock-paper-scissors."

"Did you find anything?"

"An old key and a lever. Neither did anything for us, though."

"There weren't any doors I left locked."

Must be for the cellar, then."

"Well, let's get down there," Pewdiepie said. "WotS could probably use it."

"In case you didn't notice, she's a wolf." Smash stood and took the key from his pocket. "She'll need someone to unlock a door for her."

"I knew that," Pewdiepie retorted. They walked slowly down the stair to the cellar door and pushed it open.


	9. Chapter 9: Splitting Up-Part 4

_Author's Note: I loved this chapter. I really did. I like writing from an animal's POV. It's fun. And it's a longer one! Win-win! _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

Meanwhile, WotS was in trouble. Oh, wait, you're not this far yet. Let me back up a bit...

WotS stepped up to the cellar door, braced herself against it, and pushed.

She was in a big room with torches mounted on the walls. They did help, but they didn't entirely get rid of the gloom clinging to the corners like cobwebs. There were three different hallways for her to choose from.

WotS swallowed and stepped forward. She was very happy now that she was a wolf. Otherwise, she would've wasted time looking for a lantern and oil. This way, she could still see in the darkness and wouldn't risk alerting anything to her presence... at least not that way. Exactly what it was she wanted to avoid... Well, at least she knew what they looked like...

WotS sniffed the air. Immediately, she picked up a trail of something. It smelled vaguely of spice, and behind that scent she could sense the sickly stench of rotting flesh. There was another odor mixed in too, a sharp one that smelled familiar, but she couldn't quite identify it. _Grunts, _she thought, and her fear intensified.

As she stepped forward, she put her nose to the ground. She might as well track it down. She knew that important things in games tended to be in dangerous places. The trail led to the left, to a dark hallway. She could still see alright, though. As she entered the corridor, a roar echoed off the walls, winding up her anxiety to an even higher pitch.

She shook her head to clear it. _This is a game, _she reminded herself. _If I get hurt, it won't be for real... _Then again, her shoulder was still a bit sore from earlier.

She kept her nose to the ground as she padded forward.

The smell was getting stronger and stronger. She turned right with the trail. Her heart was pounding and her paws were sweating. She stopped as she heard an inhuman moan come from the door in front of her.

She slunk into the nearest shadow and sat down. Taking a few deep breaths, she told herself, _It's just a game. Calm down. For Pete's sake, what would your friends say if they saw you like this? _Mentally bracing herself, she walked slowly and deliberately toward the door.

About a foot from the door, a crash sounded and the wood splintered. WotS jumped, a shock wave coursing through her body, then turned and ran.

Another crash told her that the door had broken completely. An irregular set of footsteps told her that something was chasing her. She resisted the temptation to look back as she ran. A strange buzzing had started in her ears. The ceiling was too low to take flight in the hallway. Confined to the ground, the Grunt slowly gained on her. Turning the corner, she burst into the first room.

The ceiling was higher here, so she swept into the air. Circling with some difficulty, she looked down upon the monster that had chased her. Evidently, it had not noticed her take flight, and was searching for her. Looking rather confused, it wandered into another corridor.

WotS waited for a while before she landed, worried that the Grunt might come back. When she did land, it was the quietest possible landing she could manage. She padded, a bit more confidently, toward the hallway again.

The door was still broken. She shuddered as she nudged past it. The room was obviously a machine room, filled with cogwheels and loud with machinery. _At least it's well-lit, _WotS thought. _I'll have time to figure things out._

WotS padded over to the set of levers to the right. Unfortunately, she couldn't pull them. Being a wolf had it disadvantages as well. _But maybe..._

She jumped onto the broad handle of one of the levers. Her weight was sufficient to pull it down. She fell as the lever dropped, landing on her bruised shoulder. Huh. Apparently, it was worse than she'd thought.

Pain shot through her foreleg, and she yelped. Hobbling to her paws, she kept her paw in the air as she sniffed at her shoulder. Nudging it, she winced. A sprain, perhaps. She tried to put weight on the paw, then shook her head. She'd have to wobble around on three paws for now.

The lever had fortunately been the right one to pull. It had deactivated a hot jet of steam blocking her way forward. She limped into the next room, grimacing on every fourth paw-step.

The next room had a puzzle of sorts set into the ground. There were three blocks and a button. This reminded her of a different game-she'd have to push the blocks around until one of them pushed the button. She put a paw down on the puzzle space. It was extremely slippery.

It'd be simple enough to figure out, but pushing them into place would be another thing altogether. Her shoulder was in no position to be pushing things around.

And so, WotS was in trouble.

_I know, so anticlimactic. _


	10. Chapter 10: Finding Each Other

_Author's Note: Yay! Double digits! I think this could have been better, but I don't know how..._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

"It's so dark..." Strike said as he squinted into the room, unable to make out anything more than vague shapes.

"We'll find a lantern, then," Smash replied with a glance at where he thought his friend was.

"How are we supposed to find one? I can't see!"

"We'll figure something out. Let's stick to the wall for now." Pewdiepie took the lead and slid sideways along the wall to the right. He came upon a hallway and followed it. The group froze in their tracks as they heard a roar and a crash.

"Hide!" Pewdiepie said, and they all scrambled to find a concealed hiding place. He crouched under a table in the corner.

The Grunt stalked out of the corridor and started searching. It wandered around a bit. In a moment of tension, the Grunt almost noticed Strike when he nudged a pebble with his shoe. Strike held his breath as it passed by, looking around confusedly. Grunts are not very good at searching, though, and it soon wandered into another hallway. Smash sighed with relief and crept out from behind a boulder. They snuck into the hallway from which the Grunt had come.

"That was a very close one for you there, Strike," said Smash.

"Yeah..." he replied with a shuddering breath.

Soon, the trio found themselves in front of a door with a big hole bashed through it.

The room was a small study, crammed with books. A desk was shoved into one of the corners. A door was to the right, which was old and locked. Smash took the key from his pocket again.

The room looked like a storage room for anyone who came down here, in case their lantern broke or they ran out of oil. There were also tinderboxes, if a torch went out. Such a helpful room.

WotS was sitting on the dirt floor, drawing out a plan, when they found her. She jumped when the three of them came in, but calmed down once she saw who it was. _Hi, _she said to them. _I hurt my shoulder._

"What happened?" Strike asked.

_I was pulling a lever down and I fell. Can you guys help me with this? __s_he said, indicating the puzzle in front of them.

"What is this?" asked Pewdiepie.

_It's a puzzle. And I've figured it out, but you'll need to do the work._

"Hey, did you see the Grunt?"

_We had tea together and I asked him how his science project was going. Of course I saw him! _She spoke sarcastically.

The three of them laughed. A typical answer from her when you asked a stupid question."So about this puzzle. What do we have to do?"

_Just do what I tell you, _WotS answered. _Ok__ay__, that block goes there first..._


	11. Chapter 11: Prepare Yourself

_Author's Note: Another short chapter, sorry. The next one will be longer, I promise. _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

After ten minutes of pushing and shoving, they finally got the blocks into place. Smash shoved the last one onto the button with a grunt, and they walked into the next room.

It was fairly small compared to the previous one. It had only a piece of paper that lay on the ground and a door, which was already open. Strike stooped down, picked up the note, and read it to them. "The lever isn't in the cellar... U MAD, BRO?"

"Well, at least we already pulled it," Smash said with a grin.

_What?_

"We found a lever in the place we searched. We didn't notice anything happen, but..." He indicated the open door.

The doorway led to another door, which was closed but not locked. An inscription was carved into the otherwise smooth stone wall to the right of the closed door. WotS was the reader this time.

_That which you seek is very near,_

_ But to get it, you must fear_

_ Something or someone to get ahead_

_ Or you could just turn back instead._

_ But if you wish to get out of this place,_

_ That which you fear is what you must face._

"It just keeps saying stuff about things we're scared of." Smash cocked his head slightly.

WotS shifted her paws. _What are you guys most afraid of? It's okay if you don't want to say, _she added quickly as Strike frowned. _We'll find out anyway. _

"What do you mean by that?" Strike asked.

"I think she means that the next room will have something terrifying in it for each of us. Something that scares us the most. We'll have to get past it to get the key for the front door." Pewdiepie replied to Strike's question.

_Good, Pewdie. Now, who want__s__ to go first?_

Nobody spoke. Nobody even moved a muscle. Smash cast a quick glance at Strike. It was fast, but WotS saw more than what met the eye. _What _she saw, though, she had only a few vague ideas about.

WotS wobbled toward them. _Someone has to go first, guys. We'll all have to go, anyway. Shall I choose randomly?_

A long, awkward moment followed her statement.

"I'll go first." Smash broke the tense silence. "Get it over with."

_Good. You go and we'll be right behind you, _WotS told him. _We got your back._

He nodded, his face pale. WotS was sure many dark thoughts ran through his head at that moment.

He glanced once more at Strike as he stepped forward.

_#1: What do you think of my little poem?_

_#2: There will most likely not be any pairings in this story. So I'm not hinting at that. I think you know what I'm talking about._


	12. Chapter 12: Facing your Fears

_Author's Note: I apologize for the slower updates. I've got a nasty case of writer's block. This one didn't require too much revising, so here you go. I don't know why, but writing WotS's little part was awesome. Oh, and sorry for OOCness. I have no idea what they're actually most scared of, so I kind of improvised... Anyway, enjoy! _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

A huge cobra reared and hissed at the four of them. Smash clenched his fists and stepped forward. Instantly, the snake turned on him menacingly, advancing on him slowly and evilly. Smash took a deep breath. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked the three behind him, his voice cracking.

"Punch it or something!" Pewdiepie replied.

Smash nodded, turned to the snake, and kicked it in the head. It flew backward and hit the opposite wall, sliding down to the floor, where it moved no more.

Pewdiepie crept forward as Smash walked backward until he hit the wall. The snake transformed into a pale little girl with raven-black hair and a white night gown. She twisted her head around further than a normal human being would be able to, and stared right at Pewdiepie. Then she started crawling towards him, scuttling along like a spider.

Pewdiepie screamed and jumped back, and ran across the room while yelling a few swear words. "What now!?"

_Do _something _other than running around!_

He seemed to draw strength from her words. Turning on the spot, he ran right at her. He actually ran over her, stomping on her head. She stopped moving and lay still. _Nice one, bro._

Pewdiepie gave a shuddering sigh and sank down to a sitting position with his back against the wall. WotS limped forward and instantly the girl stood and turned into a tall, leering figure. Wide staring eyes and distended grin, noseless and pale, a long knife in hand, dripping blood, Jeff the Killer towered over the little wolf.

WotS froze and her fur stood on end, her eyes widened in terror as the murderer stepped forward. "Go to sleep..." he crooned, almost lovingly, as he lowered his knife and traced it along her jaw. His touch made her shudder in horror. The knife was sticky with warm blood, and yet the unstained parts were icy cold.

"WotS..." Strike said softly. "Do something..."WotS had been staring at Jeff's face, but at Strike's words, she jerked back slightly. Rising into the air, she slashed her claws right across that horrid face. The murderer fell over, stabbed by his own knife as he had toppled. It stuck through his back, and blood blossomed from the wound.

_No more... _WotS thought as she looked down at the body. _Strike... Your turn._

Strike nodded and braced himself as he moved closer to the body. It vanished. The room suddenly went pitch-black. Not even WotS could see beyond the tip of her nose. It was a creepy, suspenseful sort of darkness, as if something was going to creep up on them and attack them. Well, if she couldn't see, she'd have to sniff. Raising her nose, she identified Strike and limped toward him blindly.

As they collided, Strike jumped back violently. _Don't worry, it's me, _she said quickly.

Strike wordlessly lit the lantern a moment later. The lights came back on, and Strike put it out. He was pale as a ghost.

After an awkward silence, Pewdiepie asked, "What now?" As if in response, a door opened. The box inside held a large, ornate key with the inscription, "Exit."


	13. Chapter 13: Long Road Ahead

_Author's Note: Thank you for reviewing, RobintheWriter! First review that isn't a guest. Have a cookie! _

_To everyone else: Here you go. nothing much else to say. I revised this chapter a lot. I hope you are happy with the end result! _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

The castle was apparently situated in a sprawling forest. Their adventures within the castle had lasted longer than they thought, for it was almost dusk.

Pewdiepie had taken the lead in the beginning, but eventually he fell into step beside everyone else, and they moved as a group. It had been a tiring day, and they dragged their feet (or paws, in WotS' case) along the path. There was no need for explanations. A bit of their soul had been laid bare by circumstance, and souls are sensitive things. They understood that, and there was a mutual agreement to not talk about it.

WotS kept telling herself that she was fine, but she wasn't. Not really. He limp was getting worse and worse, her shoulder's dull, throbbing ache becoming a sharp, constant pain. She finally stopped, sitting down on the spot. _I don't think I can walk much more, guys._

Smash looked over at her. "We should be stopping soon."

"Where, though?" Pewdiepie asked.

_I'll scout ahead, _WotS interjected.

"You just told us you can't walk anymore! I don't think you should be scouting ahead," said Strike.

_I'm not putting weight on my shoulder by flying, _she pointed out. _I'll be fine. It'll be faster, anyway. _Spreading her wings, she rose into the air and out of sight.

As she flew, she kept her head down to look for a clearing. She wished that she hadn't hurt her shoulder. It didn't get any worse when she was flying, but it didn't get any better, either.

Circling over what seemed a good spot, she told the others, _Keep following the path until you see me. Then just come to the place that I'm circling over. _They couldn't reply, so all she could do was wait and hope that nothing bad happened.

About fifteen minutes later, she heard the three push a branch aside as they walked into the little clearing. As she glided down to land, the branch lashed back and hit Pewdiepie in the face. He shrieked a Swedish word or two (most likely swears) and clutched at his nose. Blood dribbled from it.

"Sorry, Pewds," said Smash, who had looked back when he'd heard him yell.

"Whatever," replied Pewdiepie. He took his hand away from his nose. "Does it look too bad?"

A bruise was already starting to form, and it was still bleeding. _It might be broken._

"Well, %& #."

"I didn't mean to," said Smash.

"I told you, whatever. $&!% happens."

WotS had stopped her descent when Pewdiepie had gotten hit. Now, as she set down, she collapsed and whined when she put weight on her bad leg.

"That's not a good sign." Strike looked down at the whimpering wolf.

_You don't say? _WotS set her head down on the ground, and then shuddered. _It's getting cold, and I'm the one with the fur. You guys must be freezing._

"You're right, it is freezing." Strike was shivering a little.

_We have tinderboxes. Light up that pile of wood, would you?_

Moments later, a roaring fire crackled and popped in the center on the little clearing.

"Where are we supposed to sleep, the ground?" asked Smash.

_Yes. And don't complain, _she added as Smash opened his mouth indignantly. _We don't have many options at the moment._

The others fell asleep relatively quickly, but much as she tried, WotS couldn't drop off. Her thoughts spun around in her head, spiraling down until she opened her eyes. She was certainly tired enough, but something kept her awake. The memory of a face was what haunted her. The face of Jeff the Killer. It kept popping up against her will, shoving her out of whatever sort of dozing state she had entered. The encounter with him stood out vividly in her mind. It kept replaying itself, minus the part where she had killed him. That menacing face was all she could think of.

She so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed him wake up. She was therefore startled when a voice spoke, "You're still awake, WotS?"

_Yes. I can't sleep. What about you?_

"I just woke up," Pewdiepie whispered. "Why can't you sleep?"

_I was thinking._

"About what?"

_ Earlier._

_ "_What earlier?"

_Earlier today..._

"What earlier today?"

_ Honestly... _she glared at him. When he responded with an innocent look, she sighed and said, _I was thinking about earlier as in that room. You know, the one before the key._

"Oh." His innocent look died away, to be replaced by a serious one. "You know, you shouldn't dwell on it. It's not good for you."

_I know. But sometimes, you just can't help it._


	14. Chapter 14: The Eight Pages

_Author's Note: I revised this chapter a lot and I think it came out alright. Enjoy and all that. And thank you again for reviewing, RobintheWriter! Here, have a cupcake._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

WotS yawned and stretched, then yelped as her shoulder flared with pain. It had stiffened up after she fell asleep. Her squeal had woken the others up.

"Is your shoulder getting worse?" Strike asked as he rubbed his eyes.

_It's all stiff, _she replied.

The day was spent walking-or flying, in WotS' case. She didn't want to aggravate her shoulder. It was hot and swollen, and pain pulsed through it. Flying wouldn't make it worse, as she only had to use her wings. She only had to keep it still, and it would be alright.

She made periodic checks on the three walking below her, but they found nothing of note. There was a vague feeling of suspense in the air, sharpening and condensing into fear as the day wore on. The only good thing that happened was when she scouted ahead that morning. A stream wove its way through the forest close to the path, and she soaked her shoulder in the frigid water to ease the pain.

As she landed beside them that afternoon (rather awkwardly, as she only used her back legs), she asked, _Anything happen?_

"Nothing but walking," replied Pewdiepie. "It's kind of weird. It feels like something should be happening."

_You're right. What, though? _

Before he could answer, a shape appeared in front of them. It was tall and skinny. That was all WotS could think as she fell to the ground.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 

WotS opened her eyes. It was dark out, that was the first thing she noticed. The second had to do with something more specific.

"What just happened?" asked Strike. He'd woken before her, but the other two were still out cold. Strike shook them awake. "Wasn't it just daytime?"

"Uhh...yeah, I think so," replied Smash.

_I get the feeling that that something you mentioned earlier is happening now, Pewdie._

Strike hurriedly lit the lantern. "Hey... How did we get next to this fence?"

WotS followed Strike's line of sight and saw that indeed, they were next to a fence. Interesting.

"Weird. I remember being in the middle of a path, nowhere near a fence," said Smash.

_Well, here we are next to a fence. What now?_

"Uhh... How about we follow this path?"

_Good plan. I see only one flaw. I can't walk._

"Oh, right... Well, one of us could carry you," Pewdipie suggested.

_Great idea. Since you came up with that, you get to do the honors, _said WotS. He groaned dramatically as he picked her up. She wasn't that big, but the wings got in the way a little. He ended up carrying her baby-style with her wings folded over her like a blanket. She twisted sideways a little so she could see where they were going.

The trail soon split two different ways. One led to a clearing with a large tree in the middle of it, and the other led into the forest. A memory flashed into WotS' mind, leaping across her mental connection with the others. A memory of sitting at her computer, searching the woods at night for eight pages. A tall creature, faceless and menacing, stalking her until it caught her.

The tree did indeed have a note taped to it.

LEAVE ME

ALONE

Random scribbles adorned the page, framing the words eerily.

This was going to be a long night.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 

Smash snatched the last page off of the wall of the bathroom. He glanced around nervously. "Now what?"

_You all know what happens at the end of Slender, right? _WotS shifted slightly in Strike's arms. The three boys had switched off who held her.

She got no response, but she knew they knew. She needed no verbal confirmation.

He didn't keep them waiting long.

A slender figure appeared in front of them, and everything went dark and silent.


	15. Chapter 15: Taken

_Author's Note: Thank you for the review, HungerGamesFanatic16! I've got a lot planned, this is just the tip of the iceberg... And I like the name 'Anika.' It's a nice name._

_To everyone else: This is a longer one, so I hope you like it. A ton of revising went into this one, because my rough draft didn't seem quite right. I think it turned out awesome. Tell me what you think, if you'd like to. I can't force you to do anything._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

When WotS came to, she blinked slowly and sat up. Her shoulder was throbbing horribly, but the splitting headache was almost worse. She looked around.

They were in a dungeon-like room with a lone torch next to a locked door. It looked like a cell, as it was rather small. The other three had their hands tied up together, so they sat back-to-back with each other. WotS herself was chained to a peg stuck in the stone floor, her paw incapable of moving more than a foot or so.

As she watched, Strike stirred and opened his eyes. "Wh-what happened?" he asked drearily.

"I dunno..." Pewdeiepie had just woken up. He tried to move, but seeing as his hands were tied up, he couldn't. Then he looked around. "Where's my pie gun?"

"They probably took it."

"Aw, come on! That thing was awesome!"

"Ah, you're awake." A short man with messy brown hair and a short beard stepped into the cell. "He'll be most pleased to hear that."

"Who?" asked Pewdiepie.

"You'll find out..." The man turned and left. "He's very _insistent_ on formalities."

"Anyone know what just happened?" Smash's eyes had opened when the door banged shut.

"No idea," replied Strike. "But I have a feeling we'll find out."

WotS' head finally cleared enough to speak. _Slenderman got us._

"We know _that. _I'm surprised we're not dead, to be honest. Any other ideas?"

_Nope._

Just then, the man came back. "Come on now, get up," he said. They stumbled to their feet. He dragged them out the door of their little cell and through a long hallway, lined with doors to other cells. Here and there, a moan echoed from one, and strangely, the whimpers of a canine of some sort. WotS' heart wrenched at the sounds of their wails, but she could do nothing but pass them by.

A staircase led up and out of the dungeon, and this was where the man took them.

A large room with elaborate pillars and decorative rugs was at the top of the staircase. It looked rather like a throne room. The whole place was veiled in darkness. WotS was reminded of the abandoned castle that they had gotten out of earlier. It seemed so long ago. There, at least there was only a vague sense of foreboding. Here, there was a sharp anxiety that hung in the air.

To the right, there was a green carpet rolling up to a throne. On the throne sat a man. His face was in shadows. WotS, for some reason, felt an evil aura swirling around this man, covering him like a thick cloak. She felt immediately apprehensive. This was not good. To his left, Slenderman stood, facing the five that had just walked in. To the throne's right, Jeff the Killer leaned against the wall, polishing his knife. WotS quickly averted her eyes. The man that had brought the group up re-chained WotS to a pillar and kept hold of the rope that tied the boys together.

"I do believe we should introduce ourselves." The man on the throne spoke in a drawling voice that sent shivers down her spine. All of them remained silent. A war raged in each and every one of the team. Should they go along with it, and perhaps get out alive? Or should they defy this man, who had kidnapped them remorselessly and imprisoned them without cause?

The lack of words soon brought the man on the throne to speak. "Not cooperating, are we?" Still nothing. "Well, we'll soon change that." He turned his head and nodded to Slenderman, and WotS caught a flash of darkly-colored hair.

Slenderman nodded in return, then started toward the group. He put a long, pale finger to Smash's forehead. WotS cautiously reached out with her mind and was met with a battle of wills between the two. Slenderman was putting extreme pressure on Smash's consciousness, and Smash was trying to push him away. Slenderman was slowly gaining the upper hand, and beads of sweat were appearing on Smash's face. Finally, he broke and fell back. Panting, he said in a pained voice, "I'm Smash, and that's Strike and Pewdiepie." He nodded to each of them in turn.

"What about that little mutant over there? It can't speak, can it? What do you call it?" The man on the throne had watched the mental fight relaxedly from his perch. Now he asked the questions in what was supposed to be a pitying voice, although his tone sounded mocking to WotS.

Pewdiepie had been looking at Smash, but his gaze switched to the man on the throne as he spoke. "her name is WotS," he spat.

"Well, now that you've all introduced yourselves, this is Slenderman..." He pointed to the tall, faceless monster, not reacting to Pewdiepie's rudeness. "And this is Jeff." He indicated the leering figure of the murderer, who slashed his knife at an imaginary throat as he was introduced. He seemed to be looking at WotS. Perhaps he could tell that she was terrified of him.

"What do you want from us?" asked Strike in a voice that said all too clearly that he was trying his best to be polite.

"Well, I can see that you are clever. Brave. Strong." The man shifted his position on the throne slightly. "So I'd like to ask if you'd join me. I've an extensive army, and you need fear nothing within these lands if you are my ally. We have power over everything here. It would be a wise decision, my friends."

"And what if we say no?" sneered Pewdiepie.

"That would be very bad indeed for you," he replied menacingly. "If you say no, then I give full permission to my scientists, as well as these two..." he looked at Jeff and Slenderman "...I will give them full rights to do what they will with you. You could be dissected, experimented on, tortured... and worse." WotS could almost see the nasty smile forming on his lips. "No, joining me would be the smartest thing to do."

The four looked around at each other. An unspoken question was in their eyes. _What do we do? _

"I'll give you some time to think it over." The man on the throne waved the one who had brought them up over. "Take all the time you need. I am sure you will make the right decision."

They quickly turned to each other, and Strike asked the question that had been on their minds.

_No._ WotS replied flatly. _I can tell this guy's bad news. Did you hear the others stuck in those cells? If he treats other living beings like that, and he commands those two monsters..._WotS glanced over at the two pale things beside the throne. _It's not a good idea. _

"I agree." Pewdiepie murmured. "He's evil, and that's all there is to it." He turned to the man on the throne. "We've made our decision."

"And?" WotS got the impression that he raised his eyebrows.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Well, then." He turned to the brown-haired man. "Ed, take them back down to their cell. All except... the mutant."

In response, Ed walked over to the knot of boys and yanked them away. "Move it." They disappeared into the dungeons.

WotS' heart pounded against her chest like a frantic bird, her paws sweating and shaking. With the others gone, her bravery had deserted her. What would they do?

"I have business to attend to." The man on the throne got up, making sure to keep his face hidden from WotS' view. "Slenderman, come with me. Jeff, I'll leave you to do the honors. After that, take her down to a holding cell and tell the scientists that they're free to have her." Slenderman followed the man through another door.

Jeff stepped forward. "Looks like I get to, as the boss says, 'do the honors.' Won't that be fun?" He asked the little wolf. He brandished his knife at her. "Isn't it lovely? I polished it once the boss said that Slendy got someone. I had a feeling you wouldn't agree."

WotS gulped. For a moment, she stared at Jeff, unable to do anything else. Then she forced herself to think. Reaching a quick decision, she reached out to the trio in the cell and spoke a single word. _Torture. _She gave them a little bit of time to let it sink in, then, _Stay with me, please. _None of them withdrew, so she assumed they had agreed. It was the best she could do. Tilting her head back and glaring up at Jeff, she waited for him to begin.


	16. Chapter 16: Torture It Is

_Author's Note: This one was hard to write. I kept it sort of vague on purpose. I hope you like it. Wait, I hope you hate it. If you don't, then you either hate WotS or love torture scenes. Neither of those are good, from my perspective._

**WARNING: This chapter is a torture scene. I'll put a summary in italics at the end of the chapter, for those of you who don't like the gory chapters. I'll warn you, though, the chapter is a lot more descriptive. Read the chapter if you prefer a little more meat on the bones of it. But don't say I didn't warn you.**

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

Pewdiepie was pacing in his cell. They had been untied once in the dungeon and thrown into separate cells. There were vents that led through the cells, so they could talk to each other, but that was all they could do. At the moment, no one spoke. WotS had been chosen to remain upstairs; what would they do to her? And what horrible things would they be submitted to?

A voice echoed in their heads. One word. _Torture._ She left them a moment to go to the vents in the wall. Strike was in the middle cell, so he was looking between Smash's brown eyes peering through the vent, and Pewdiepie's blue ones gazing into the cell. Then, _Stay with me, please. _They silently nodded to each other.

A moment later, a horrible howl echoed into the dungeon, grating on their eardrums. Pewdiepie winced and closed his eyes. He wished they were anywhere, doing anything else than here and now. WotS was upstairs being subjected to who-knows-what, and they could do nothing but sit here and listen.

A vague sensation of an enormous amount of pain reached them through their mental connection to WotS. It seemed concentrated in a long, curved line tracing across her left shoulder. Luckily, not the injured one. The wails continued, as did the slashes. They lanced across their minds with the speed and accuracy of an arrow. A flaming, drenched in acid, sharp-as-a-knife arrow, every time. They knew it was nowhere near what WotS was going through. They had only the cloudiest, wispiest idea of her pain.

Pewdiepie grimaced and tried not to groan. What...how...why...

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 

WotS howled loudly as the knife dug into her belly. It seemed to be everywhere at once, carving into her ears, slashing her sides, and worst, dangerously close to her throat. She couldn't lie, Jeff was skilled in his gruesome work. He knew exactly where it would cause most pain, release the most blood, yield the most fear. She kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to look at that triumphant, insane leer. She didn't want to believe that he'd won. And as long as she was still living, he wouldn't win. She wouldn't let him.

A sticky, warm red liquid seeped out of her wounds. She couldn't go on... It had to stop... but he wouldn't...

His nasty breath blew softly into her tattered ear. "Warmed up now, aren't we?" She tried to snarl at him, but a pitiful whimper was all she could manage. "Oh, you _poor _thing. I'll fix that for you."

A fuzzy haze of torture followed this... And then she remembered a cold breeze on her wings. They were stripped bare. Not a single feather remained. They were slick with blood. A few cuts crisscrossed them.

Then he moved on to the rest of her. Her belly, her sides, her tail. Gashes covered her so thoroughly that she could not distinguish fur from flesh.

At last, it became too much. The darkness behind her eyelids became complete, and she descended into the blissful silence and nothing of unconsciousness.

_SUMMARY: Basically, it starts where we left off last chapter, except from Pewdie's POV. He and the others have to listen to WotS being tortured. Then it switches to WotS, who is being tortured. Jeff plucks her wings and cuts her a ton, and she faints._


	17. Chapter 17: Escape

_Author's Note: New chapter. Here you go. Ed is a wimp. Just so you know, I'm planning on starting a new story. I don't know if it'll be a one-shot or an actual story, but it should be good either way._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

At once, WotS' howls stopped at the same time her mind went blank. Pewdiepie's head snapped forward, and his eyes flew open. He'd sat against the wall with them closed as a way to cope with WotS' distress. Now, he stood and stumbled to the vent. Smash had done the same on the other side, and Strike was once more standing in the middle. Their heads turned as one when they heard the door to the dungeon clang open and heavy footsteps clambering down the stairs. Pewdiepie was the closest to the dungeon exit, so he was the first to see Ed walk by the cell door. He stopped in front of the three cells. He seemed to be considering something. Then he took a ring of keys off of his belt, sorted through them carefully, and plucked one out of the bundle. He inserted it into Pewdiepie's cell's lock. As the door opened, Pewdiepie had but one thought: get out of here.

Ed stepped through the doorway and was met with a fist to his face. He stumbled backward, reeling slightly in shock. Pewdiepie took the few seconds that the punch had given him, and yanked Ed by the beard into the cell. Ed was clutching at his mouth, and blood dripped from a space where there was once a tooth.

Pewdiepie looked him up and down. He didn't see any weapons but a short sword that he'd been holding. It had dropped to the ground once the tooth had come out. Grabbing it, he held it Ed's throat. At once, Ed stepped backward a bit and looked down at the blade.

Pewdiepie wasn't really sure what he should do next. The intimidation thing didn't come easily to him. "Where's my pie gun?" he thought to ask.

"D-down the hallway, th-the room's labeled Confiscated Items." Ed looked terrified, like a deer caught in a headlight.

"Gimme the keys." He wordlessly handed them over. "Thank you. Now, is there any way out of this place other than the front door?"

"There's a w-way out down here, b-but it's not used often. I-It's all the way at the end of the hallway. There's a t-tunnel." Ed was shaking and sweating.

"Good." Pewdiepie stepped forward and hit him on the head with the butt of the sword. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Pewdiepie hurried to open the other two's doors, and soon they all were out.

They crept down the corridor, up the staircase, and to the door. Opening it a crack, they peered into the room.

Jeff was laughing crazily at WotS, who lay in a crumpled heap beside a pillar. She was almost unrecognizable, her flesh torn down to bone in places, her fur heavy with the red, wet substance seeping from the wounds that had been inflicted upon her. Her wings were draped in blood, not feathers. The vicious slashes that covered her were too terrible to look at for too long. A sickly stench hit their nostrils, and they flinched back in horror.

They slipped out the door and stuck to the shadows like a burr. The closest they could get to WotS was about six feet. They couldn't get any closer for fear of being discovered. Jeff was so engrossed in his joy that he hadn't noticed them.

"I'll carry her," breathed Strike. The plan had formed in their heads, and there was no need to speak of it. They all knew what it was.

The other two nodded. Many things happened in the next moment.

The first was that Strike raced out and grabbed WotS as quickly and gently as he could. Second, Smash hurried out with his friend and ran straight for Jeff. Third, Pewdiepie sprinted for the dungeon door and flung it open once he got there.

Jeff turned and saw them coming, but only managed to screech "They got out!" before Smash ran right into him. They rolled around on the floor, trying to slap, punch, hit their opponent in some way. Each finally untangled themselves from the other and stood. Jeff, angry at Smash for letting Strike get away with WotS, aimed a quick slash at his throat. He turned away from the blade, but it still caught him on the side of his ribs. He fell back, panting. The cut felt as if it were on fire. He had no choice but to keep moving, though. Keep running, or die. He sped toward the dungeon door. Pewdiepie held it open for both he and Strike, who was closer. Smash overtook Jeff, who had stopped to pick up his knife after dropping it. As soon as he was through the doorway, Pewdiepie slammed the door in Jeff's face and bolted it shut. Furious pounding came from the other side, but Jeff couldn't get to them.

Smash leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. Examining the cut in his side, he said, "That went well. You know, considering...everything."

"Yeah." Strike knelt beside WotS and felt for her pulse. A bit slow, but it was there. "Now what?"

"That guy...Ed, was his name? He told me that there's a way out of here. A tunnel at the end of this hallway. And I think we should also get our stuff."

"The lantern, your pie gun..."

"Yep. He told me it was in a room labeled 'Confiscated Items.'"

"let's go there first, then." Strike picked up WotS again, and they set off through the gloomy corridor.

As they walked, they peered into a few cells. One had some type of canine in it, sort of like a wolf, but bigger and more menacing, with a reddish tint to its fur. Another, a vaguely humanoid creature that sat weeping in the corner. They wondered what the things were...or had started out as...

They reached the Confiscated Items room and searched through the objects that littered the floor and shelves. The pie gun lay on a shelf next to some other weapons, and the lantern sat on the floor next to a bunch of other lanterns. Nothing else useful was here.

The labyrinthine tunnels led this way and that, off into many different places. Luckily, there was a map of the place that hung at the entrance. They just wanted to get away from this place. Therefore, they chose a tunnel that ended at a thick patch of forest, far away from the castle they were currently under.

It seemed they walked for an eternity. The path was simple enough-a right here, go straight there-but it was long, so impossibly long. They spent hours in those tunnels. When they finally emerged, it was around dusk. The tall trees cast long shadows around the exit to the tunnels. The sun formed a semicircle on the horizon. Here and there, a bird chirped, and they heard the sound of running water somewhere nearby. "At least that's over," Strike said as he looked down at the limp figure in his arms.


	18. Chapter 18: The Arrival

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and for following my story, Vampiregirl2000! And no, I don't have any pairings planned. Sorry!_

_To everyone: I hope you like my little addition in this chapter!_

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

WotS groaned and opened her eyes, then breathed a sigh of relief once she saw that she was not in that horrid place anymore. Her mind was slow and sluggish, and every inch of her body ached and stung terribly. Funny... Her shoulder didn't seem so bad compared to the other vicious wounds she had received at the hands of the killer. Even her wings felt as if they'd been cut to a million pieces. Yes... now she remembered... a cold draft... insane laughter... She shut her eyes tight. She didn't want to remember. Not ever. But she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to. Memory is a strange thing. The things you want so badly to forget are the things that tend to stay with you longest. The things you want to hold onto forever slip away, ever so slowly, so you don't notice them fade.

"WotS? You awake?" whispered Smash. It was near dawn, from what she could see. The other two were out like lights.

_What does it look like? _she replied. _Why aren't you asleep?_

Smash grinned. "We thought a watch system would be a good idea at night."

_How long have I been out?_

"Two days." Then she noticed a long, thin cut in his side.

_You're hurt!_

"You should take a look at yourself."

_Touche._

Smash poked the the others awake. "WotS woke up," he told them.

"Good," yawned Pewdiepie.

"So... What now?" asked Strike.

"Same as we've been doing the whole time WotS was out," replied Smash. "We wait."

"For what?"

"For her to get well enough to start moving."

"Sounds boring."

"I don't exactly want to leave her here. And I don't want Jeff or Slenderman to find us, either."

_At least you found a good place. _It was true. A cave with a sloping entrance so that it was underground, with a hole in the roof to let in light. The entrance also twisted around to the side. If anyone saw it, they'd just think it was a little cave. Big enough for a single deer, perhaps. There was another way out, too. It really was perfect.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 

The next week or so was spent in the cave, waiting for WotS to heal. It did indeed get boring at times, but something happened after a few days that changed things up a bit.

WotS had been laying around, her thoughts drifting lazily about. At a rustle of leaves and the snap of a twig, though, she lifted her head. That was about as much as she could move, and even then it was painful.

The others looked up from their conversation, fear etched on their faces. Had they been found?

Another twig broke and they heard sniffing. WotS raised hre nose and sniffed too, then sighed with relief. _It's not them. Just an animal. I think it probably smells us, though._ They relaxed slightly.

A little black nose poked into their cave, followed by two chocolate-brown eyes and scruffy gray-brown fur. A wolf, no older than about nine in human years, had stumbled upon their hideout.

The wolf's eyes widened as it saw the group. 'Where's Mum?' it yipped to WotS.

Pewdiepie grinned. "Aww, it's so cute," he said.

_I think he's scared of you, _spoke WotS.

"He?"

_Intuition. _WotS gave a mental shrug. Then she focused on the wolf pup. 'Who are you?' she asked him.

'I'm Thunder. And I want my mum!'

'Hush, now. Come over here,' she murmured, flicking her tail.

He padded over to her. 'Why are you hurt?'

'It's a very long story. What happened to your mum?'

'Her and Comet and Spark-that's my little brother and older sister-and me were all walking...and then it got really foggy. Then I heard Mum bark really loudly, like something scared her... but I didn't think anything could scare Mum! I tried to find her, but I couldn't. And when the fog went away, everyone was gone, and I didn't know where I was!' By the end of his little tale, Thunder would have been crying if he were human.

'Quiet, Thunder... Were you lost for a long time, or just a little while?'

'A long time. I'll _never_ find them!' the pup wailed.

'Shush.' WotS nudged his cheek. 'Do you want to stay with us until you find them?'

'Maybe... They won't hurt me, right?' He he replied, warily indicating the boys, who were watching them.

'No, they're nice.'

'I'll stay with you, then.' He sat down abruptly.

"What were you saying?" asked Pewdiepie. "I don't speak wolf."

She repeated everything they had said. _He'll be staying with us for the time being._

"Okay."

Thunder curled up next to WotS. 'I don't know why you're hurt, but I'll try to help you feel better,' he said, resting his head beside hers.

'Thank you, Thunder.'


	19. Chapter 19: A Midnight Story

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! It means a lot to me. A cute little chapter here. Kinda short, but whatever. Go and immerse yourselves in the adorableness of this chapter. You won't regret it. Also, what do you think of my story-within-a-story? Thought of it in science class._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

'WotS?'

She stirred and opened her eyes. It was almost midnight, judging by the way the moon shone through the crack on the roof of the cave. Thunder was nudging her awake, his eyes his eyes wide open and gleaming in the starlight. 'Are you awake?'

'I am now,' she yawned. 'What's wrong?'

'I can't sleep.'

'Well, at least try.'

'I have already!'

'Shh.'

'Sorry.' He paused, then said, 'Can you tell me a story?'

'Alright.' She thought for a moment and asked, 'What kind of a story do you want to hear?'

'...A legend. The kind of story from a long time ago. Back when the world was new... That's what Mum used to say.'

'Okay.' She gathered her thoughts and began to whisper into the darkness of the cave.

'A long time ago when the world was new, the elements of this earth were wolves. Wind, the daughter of Cloud and Sky, was a small wolf that was always bullied by Ice and Snow and Rain, three other wolves. Her parents did nothing to stop them. Whenever Wind had had enough of their teasing and taunting, she howled. It was a beautiful howl that she had, although there was a bit of a whistle behind it. She never told the other wolves it was her who sang for them. They all thought it was quite pretty, a sweet and mournful tune the danced through the night whenever Wind felt the need to howl.

One night while Wind cried her unhappiness to the stars, Rain found her upon the high outcropping. Instead of harassing her, Rain started howling with her. A great storm leapt down from the heavens. This angered Thunder and Lightning, two males who hated storms. They also hated each other. So Thunder barked and Lightning snapped, and they both fought hard that night.

The next day, Rain explained to Ice and Snow what had happened. They all became good friends, and when their spirits ascended to the sky, they continued with their singing. That is why wind and rain come together in a storm, for they love to howl together. And Thunder and Lighting still fight to this day, for they still hate storms.'

'That's a good story,' said Thunder when she had finished.

'Thank you, Thunder.'

'Was the Thunder in the story brave?'

'Yes, very brave and very strong.'

'I want to be like him someday.'

'Perhaps. Are you feeling better now?'

He nodded, yawning. 'Yeah. I think I can sleep now. I'm tired.' As he drifted off, he murmured, 'Thanks, WotS.'

Although Thunder was asleep by now, WotS felt compelled to reply. 'You're welcome, Thunder,' she whispered into the night.


	20. A Sad Note From Your Author

Okay, so... this story MIGHT be abandoned. I might be losing my computer soon, so I'm sorry if I do have to abandon it. I can't post chapters without my computer. I really don't want to, but things happen. It's still an iffy situation, so I might just keep posting chapters as usual, but it could happen. Just warning those of you who read this story. If I stop logging on/posting chapters, that's why. Just wanted to tell you in advance.


	21. Chapter 20: An Unfortunate Encounter

_Author's Note: This was originally going to be two chapters, but they seemed too short. So here's another long one. Enjoy. Oh, and by the way, if WotS is talking to Thunder and the others at the same time it looks like this : 'Word talking blah blah.'_

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

Thunder at first was terrified of them. He clung to WotS' side and avoided the others' gazes. In time, though, he started letting them closer to him, rather than dashing off to a corner whenever they so much as looked at him. Soon enough, he was just as friendly to the other three as he was to WotS. She often had to translate for the little wolf pup. It did get tedious, but she'd rather do that than nothing at all. To tell the truth, she needed a distraction very badly. Nightmares had been drifting into her mind and setting a haze of fear over her sleep as of late. She needed to shake them off. She needed to get rid of the memory of a knife, sharpened and bloody... A malicious grin carved into an impossibly pale face... Widened, burned eyes ringed by the blackest of back... Pain and blood...Torture...

When she was finally able to move, they set out immediately. The long wait in the cave had left them eager to stretch their legs. She wasn't completely healed yet. That would've taken much too long. But at least she was relatively healthy, and her shoulder had healed. At least, it didn't hurt so horribly anymore. She still had nasty scars covering her, and her feathers hadn't grown in. But she was alright.

As they walked, Thunder kept dashing ahead and playing, or else bombarding WotS with questions. She answered him evenly enough-to the human ear. Wolves are more perceptive than humans, and Thunder could tell that he was getting on her nerves. He calmed down once he realized that she was getting a bit annoyed. Then he asked if he could scout ahead. WotS let him, as he was too antsy to remain with the group. She was confident that if he met anything dangerous, he'd run back.

He returned a little while later, limping exaggeratedly. 'I got a thorn in my paw!'

WotS rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to laugh. Lowering her head, she sniffed at his paw and the sharp, claw-like object protruding from it. She took hold of the thorn in her mouth and tugged at it. As it came out, Thunder hopped backward, whimpering and licking his paw. 'That hurt!'

'I know, Thunder. But it's better now, right?'

'Yeah... Thank you.' He started back the way he had come, still slightly favoring his paw.

That evening, he came dashing back to the group. Suddenly, as if realizing he was being immature, he halted and started to walk slowly and deliberately toward WotS, as if he were reporting back to her. 'I smelled humans. But they didn't smell right... I couldn't tell how it was wrong, though. It just smelled... wrong.'

_Jeff and Slenderman, I bet you a nickel, _she spoke to the other three. 'How old did it smell?'

'About two or three days, I think.'

_'So they might come back to search again...'_

'I saw something else, too.'

'What?'

'Mountains! They looked really close... Maybe a day to get there?'

'Cool. Thank you, Thunder.' She turned to the others and translated. _What do you think?_

"I think we should go," said Strike. "We don't have any idea where we're supposed to go, so let's just do it."

"What if we can't get there? What if there's an invisible barrier that always exists in these open-map games?" Pewdiepie pointed out.

_That may be true, but that doesn't mean we can't try._

"What about Jeff and Slenderman?" asked Smash.

_We'll just have to be careful._ WotS nodded and said, _I'm surprised they didn't split up. It'd be more efficient._

"They might've split up and searched the area at different times," said Pewdiepie. "Thunder might not have been able to tell. He's pretty young."

_Good point. _WotS curled up next to Thunder as usual, hoping her dreams would not be tainted by nightmares tonight.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 

The day dawned bright, cold, and early. WotS could see her breath in the frosty morning air. Everyone was shivering slightly. Thunder dealt with the low temperature by going on a hyper rampage, bouncing off of trees and rocks as if he had springs attached to his paws. Once he had calmed down, they started moving.

Thunder was in front, and looked quite proud to be so. He led them toward the mountains he had seen the previous day. He stopped just as WotS caught the scents of Jeff and Slenderman. Both were stale, a few days old, but no less pungent.

_'Through or around?'_

"Do you smell them, WotS?" asked Smash.

_Nothing but the scents from a few days ago._

"Let's go, then."

WotS cautiously poked her nose into the seemingly empty clearing. No sign of anything moving. Nervously, she padded forward. The scents swirled into her nostrils, putting her on a knife-sharp edge. She almost stopped for a moment, she was so jumpy. She gave herself a mental shake. _They're not here. The scents are stale. _Nonetheless, she let out a sigh of relief once they were back in the shadows of the forest.

They arrived at the mountains at dusk. It wouldn't do to start climbing while it was dark, so they bed down for the night.

WotS curled up in her usual spot beside Thunder. She vaguely wondered what was to happen to them... she was sure the game hadn't seen enough action for a a while... Then a scent hit her nostrils. Jeff the Killer. And it was fresh.

She leapt clumsily to her paws. _He's here! _Her warning was not needed, for Jeff had hurled himself out of the bushes with an earsplitting screech.

Thunder jumped up. For a moment, he simply stood there in shock. Then his face twisted into a mean little snarl, and he growled, 'Where's my mum?'

WotS was confused. 'What do you mean?'

'I smelled him nearby when I got lost. I didn't recognize him earlier, mixed in with that other scent, but I do now. He knows where Mum is!'

Jeff grinned menacingly at Thunder, who surprisingly, didn't flinch. "So you're that little runt I saw earlier. Do you miss your mommy?" He taunted.

Thunder replied with the meanest bark he could muster.

Jeff gave a chilling laugh. His pitiless eyes stared the little wolf pup down He yanked a knife from his belt and sprang forward.

Thunder only just missed the blade. He'd dodged sideways and darted toward the only way out of the clearing. Jeff blocked their former entrance, and the bushes were too thick to escape through. The only option left to them was the path up the mountain.

The steep, winding trail was difficult to traverse. One misstep and they could find themselves dead at the bottom of the cliff. All five of them, with Thunder in the lead, were going as fast as they could being too reckless. Jeff was close behind. The mad chase was long and grueling.

At last, Jeff caught up with them on a large outcropping, a few trees scattered over it and grass swaying gently in the breeze. The moon was up by now. Jeff slowly advanced on them, as if relishing every moment of their fear. "Too bad Slendy isn't here," he jeered. "He'd make quick work of you. But then," he spoke, fingering his knife, "Then I wouldn't get to have any fun."

'_Here's the plan. We all charge him at the same time.' _They nodded. _'One.. two... GO!'_

A moment later, Jeff was hurling himself sideways, dodging all of them at once. "Nice try," he spat. Then he made for the one closest to him-Strike.

Strike wasn't prepared, and therefore let himself fall as Jeff barreled into him. "Nice trick you friend had there," Jeff snarled.

Strike struggled and kicked, but he was trapped in Jeff's vice-like grip. "Quiet, you." Then Strike kicked him in the stomach, and he flew back, clutching at his belly. He quickly regained the upper hand, though. The struggle drifted toward the edge, and Jeff spotted his opportunity. Sidestepping Strike's powerful blows, he grabbed his arm and pushed him backward. Strike's feet slipped off the edge. Jeff kept hold of one hand. Both of them were covered in sweat and blood and bruises. Jeff, almost teasingly, dangled the terrified Strike from the cliff. WotS had a _Lion King _flashback as Jeff leaned forward to whisper in Strike's ear. This time, though, They could all hear his words.

"I'll make this simple for you," he hissed. _"Go to sleep."_

He let go.

_(Please don't kill me. Here, have a cookie. *gives cookie*)_


	22. Chapter 21: An Echoing Howl

_Author's Note: I'm sorry, but it had to happen. So I wrote a tribute chapter for our fallen character. Deep and descriptive. Just the way I like it. Short, but powerful. As always, I hope you like it._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

WotS could do nothing as all of this happened. It was as if she were made of stone. She could not move a muscle as she watched him fall. It was only at Jeff's insane laughter that she snapped out of her daze. She dashed forward and leapt onto Jeff,surprising him enough so that she could knock him over.

While Jeff was still stunned, she lifted a paw and brought it down mercilessly on his cheek, leaving a long, jagged gash. A flaming need for revenge was crackling and snapping in her belly. Jeff flinched back slightly, and he seemed to come back to his senses. He shoved his knife up toward her throat. She shied sideways, but the blade snagged her ear and tore a deep, V-shaped nick in it. "Still haven't learned your lesson, have you?" he growled as he stood up. He was at least three times her height, and she cowered and sank back toward the wall of rock behind her. Jeff stalked forward, cornering her.

Just then, a high-pitched whine echoed through the air. Jeff jerked his head up and turned toward a distant spot in the forest below. Then he turned back to the four of them. "You got lucky. Not next time." He ran to the path down the mountain and slipped onto the treacherous trail, slithering along the fastest he could.

WotS sat down where she was. She was shaking as if wracked by illness. She paid no attention to the steady drip of blood from her ear. A small, furry something pressed against her side. Thunder's eyes were wide and fearful, and slightly confused. The thing that outweighed both of those, though, was an incredible sadness.

WotS turned to look back at the others. Both were panting heavily and leaning against the mountainside. It looked as if Smash had tried to run towards Jeff like WotS had, but Pewdiepie had held him back. Now, he stumbled forward and fell to his knees at the top of the cliff. A haze of disbelief and despair covered his eyes, making them dull and lifeless. He gazed unseeingly down at the ground far below them. As WotS padded up to him, with Thunder clinging to her side, he murmured, "You can still see him..."

She looked down. You could indeed see a vague shape laying splayed and broken at the bottom of the cliff. Worse, a pool of red seeped from the body, soaking the ground around him.

WotS whimpered and slid back from the edge. She knew he was gone, knew he had passed from this existence, but something seemed missing. The spirit waited, the body remained... Something needed to be done. What, though...

She walked slowly back up to Smash and sat beside him. It came to her in a feeling. A bulging feeling starting deep in her belly, growing until she could no longer hold it in. She opened her mouth into a howl. This was not, however, this discordant wailing of her torture that had echoed down into the dungeon. A melodious song rang out into the night, mournful and intense.

Thunder blinked and looked up at WotS. A wolf's natural instinct is to howl if it hears others howling. So he did. He slipped in next to her, sat down, tipped his head back, and joined in. As he was still quite young, his howling was clumsy and slightly off. He sounded just fine, though.

The song had no words, for none could quite capture her sorrow. To put words to it would be wrong. Like a perversion of a moral that lives in each and every living creature to walk this earth. The lament was simple enough for even the humans here to understand. It spoke of sadness and peace, hope and faith. It said that Strike would never be forgotten, that he would never be lost to memory by time or age. It said that he would be missed. But, as I have said before, sometimes words cannot describe such a song well. I shame myself for trying to describe it.

As the two wolves finished their mournful duet, the body below dissipated into a little cloud of light blue pixels and floated up toward the heavens. They watched as the pixels rose up, up, until they were out of sight. All that was left was the dark blotch of blood and the echoing memory of WotS and Thunder's cries.


	23. Chapter 22: Nothing but Darkness

_Author's Note: I'm really proud of this one. It all came to me one day in class, so I just had to write it down. It's a very dark chapter. Hope you like it! :D_

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

They stayed on the outcropping for the remainder of that night. I took everyone a while to get to sleep. As for WotS, she slept restlessly and woke many times from nightmares involving endless pits and agonizing screams.

As she opened her eyes and jolted awake yet again, she noticed that she wasn't alone. Smash's eyes were wide open, and he looked slightly haunted as he lay back and stared up at the stars.

She shifted her position a bit, and Smash blinked and looked over at her. "I didn't know you were awake."

_On and off. What about you?_

"Same."

WotS quietly got to her paws, padded over to him, and curled up by his side. He absentmindedly reached out a hand and stroked her fur. Behind her, Thunder squirmed around fitfully, whimpering in his sleep. _I don't think anyone's getting much rest tonight._

They lay there in silence for a while. WotS could tell that he needed the company. His thoughts had been turning inward, driving him into a depressed corner of his mind. He did not, however, need words. People didn't want to be told "Sorry." People didn't want to be pitied.

WotS' head snapped up. She'd been dozing off a bit, but she was wide awake now. Smash sat up slightly and looked around. "What is it?"

_I heard something._

"Can you smell anything?"

_No. But I get the feeling that we're being watched._

The feeling of suspense persisted over the next few days. It wore down on WotS' psyche and made her fur stand on end when they settled down for the night. She got into the habit of glancing back down the trail every once in a while to make sure that no one was sneaking up on them. The paranoia affected everyone. Conversations became short and tense, and Thunder started having nightmares. WotS often had to wake the little wolf from his terrifying dreams and comfort him.

By the end of the fourth day, they had gotten to the top of the mountain. The gaping mouth of a cave stood in front of them.

Thunder trotted up to the entrance and poked his nose in. 'Hello? Anyone in here?' His bark echoed into the darkness. Then he turned back to the group. 'It's dark in there.'

'We have a lantern,' said WotS.

'What's a lantern?'

WotS sighed. 'You've heard of fire?'

'Of course!'

'Well, it's like putting fire into a thing made of clear stone. It helps people see in the dark.'

'Weird... Cool, though.'

'I guess.' WotS looked over at the other three. _Shall we?_

The cave was deep and dark and damp. It reminded you of those caves that you see in movies, the ones than often have something big and monstrous lurking in their shadows. Once, a colony of bats were startled by their lantern and took flight, swooping down by the team of four. Thunder laid his ears back and pressed against WotS' side. 'Bats! They creep me out... I've seen them flying around sometimes at night. Mum says they suck blood.'

'Only some of them.'

Eventually they came to a fork. "Now what?" asked Smash while fighting back a yawn. He hadn't gotten enough sleep since the incident on the cliff.

"Ole dole doff, kinke lane koff, koffe lana binke bana ole dole doff." Pewdiepie used the Swedish children's rhyme to choose where to go. He ended up pointing to the right.

The caves were huge and maze-like. It was easy to get lost within the labyrinthine tunnels. There was no day or night. A timeless darkness was all that there was. They slept when they were tired and kept moving when they were not. The world was turned upside-down.

They had no idea how long they had been in the caves. It could have been a day or a week or a month. They had left their sense of time at the cave entrance. Oftentimes, they hit dead ends and had to turn back. The darkness soaked into their skin, their bones and their eyes, until it weighed them down, making them drag their feet even when they were not tired, making them stumble blindly even when they could see. Eventually they stopped using the lantern because it was hurting their eyes. The darkness saturated their very souls, burdening them with all the unhappiness that they had ever carried in their lives. Memories echoed back from their pasts, ones that they had promised to cast away, to forget and never think of. But memories are never cast away. They dog your footsteps, nipping at your heels until the eind of your days.

Their travels took them deep into the heart of the mountain. Even Thunder could manage no more than a low, despairing voice. After a while, they just stopped talking. That was what they did to you. The very air was permeated with a dragging sadness that pulled everything down into its hungry grasp. Their sleep was plagued by never-ending nightmares, if they managed to get any. Life became hell, and existence became torture.


	24. Chapter 22andahalf: A Short Conversation

_Author's Note: I thought this was too short to be its own chapter, so I'm calling it chapter twenty-two and a half. I thought you'd enjoy a little insight into this particular scene. Oh, and thanks for putting a link to this on Twitter, Vampiregal2000! I can't express how awesome it is that someone appreciates my story so much. _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

"They escaped me, sire, But one of them is dead now."

"You let them?"

"I had no choice, sire. You called to me just as I was cornering them."

"You could have stayed."

"Ah, but you are too impatient; you would have punished me."

"That is true... Where are they now?"

"They were climbing Devil's Fang, last I saw them."

"They won't last long there. The only way out are the Caves of Despair. They won't get out without going mad."

"Should we track them through the caves, sire?"

"No. It'd be too difficult. Tracking in caves is not easy, even for someone like Smile."

"What shall we do, then?"

"...Our underground tunnels. They go everywhere, including under the mountains. You and Slenderman go. And tell Smile to come with you. The hell-hounds are loyal to him, and battle-ready."

"Yes, sire. But what if _he _finds them?"

"He would not dare. And if he does... then save a knife for him. I trust you, Jeff."

"Thank you, sire."

"If you fail...I personally will see to it that you are punished accordingly."

"Yes, sire."


	25. Chapter 23: A Return to Normal

_Author's Note: I wish I'd put this up a day or two ago, but there wasn't time. So here you go. Oh, and I'm officially starting my new story, Keeper of the Killer. If you feel like it, you should check out the first chapter and tell me what you think. Like I've said before, I can't force you to do anything._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

WotS' head spun unpleasantly as she fell. The caves were so disorienting. She hardly knew where she was, what she was doing, let alone control her paws. A heavy cloud of some horrible feeling pressed down on her mind and her heart, obscuring everything she knew with a dark fog, a dense mist that clogged her soul.

As she stumbled to her paws, she noticed something. A bright light, shining far in the distance. The little pinprick of white in her vision lifted her spirits, if ever so slightly. She turned to the three behind her. Unable to speak, she flicked her tail to indicate the dot she had seen. Thunder pricked his ears for the first time since entering the caves, and Pewdiepie's eyes widened a bit. The spot renewed their hope, and with that their energy. It gave them happiness, and a blessed relief. It pierced through the darkness that shrouded their souls so thoroughly.

They stepped into a moon-washed, starlit clearing. It was so bright here, so bright compared to the blackness of the caves. WotS' spirits soared as the starlight struck her face. Unable to help it, she raced a lap around the clearing. Thunder followed soon after, bouncing around the clearing with the speed of ten rabbits. Smash flopped onto his back with a sigh of utmost contentment, and Pewdiepie followed suit.

The surge of happiness was not really happiness-rather, a return to normalcy. One of the sweetest sensations in life is the draining away of pain, sadness, any unpleasant emotion. You get used to carrying that burden, you numb yourself to it. You must. So when it lifts, you are happily surprised with it. Normal was heaven compared with the hell that they had been through.

WotS turned to look at the other three. They were starting to regain some color already, but they were limp and pale. Shadows surrounded their eyes, which were dull and blank. Their skin had a slightly gray tinge to it. Thunder was no better off. His fur had been fluffy and shiny. Now, it was thin and a bit greasy, and his eyes had lost their inner glow. He looked like he'd aged two years, which a very long time to a canine. WotS knew she probably looked just as bad.

She lifted her head and sniffed the air as a slight breeze ruffled her fur. Wind! She closed her eyes and let it flow through her. All these things, so natural, that she had taken for granted...

The scent of cold water hit her nostrils, clean and fresh. She opened her eyes and turned to the three laying down to her right. Thunder had collapsed, panting, next to the others after his outburst of energy. _'Anyone in the mood for a swim?'_

Thunder leapt to his paws. 'Yes! I feel all nasty.'

WotS led the group to the edge of a lake. The waves lapped gently at the sandy beach connecting land and water. Thunder gave a squeal of delight and dashed toward the shore. WotS followed him as Pewdiepie and Smash sat down on a steeper part of the bank and dangled their feet in the water.

As Thunder splashed around, WotS padded in and let the waves wash away the grime that had accumulated upon her fur during her time in the caves. She spread her wings to examine them. She'd done this often on the way up the mountain, but the caves had robbed her of any urge to make sure she was healing. The feathers were almost grown in, but they were limp and lifeless. Perhaps a few more days, and she'd be able to fly again.

Thunder paddled up next to her. He was littler and stockier than her, so he could only just reach the bottom. 'You know, I was going to ask earlier, but I guess I didn't really want to...you've got wings.'

'Yes.'

'That means you're a Star Wolf, doesn't it?'

'What?'

'A Star Wolf! That means you've been blessed by the spirits. At least, that's what Mum told me. How were you blessed?'

'It's a very long story, Thunder. You probably wouldn't understand.'

Thunder nodded. 'Mum says that the feathers of a Star Wolf are sacred and bring good luck. Even meeting one is special.'

'I don't think I'm that special.'

'I think you are. You're a better big sister than Star. She's mean sometimes.'

'I'm not your big sister.'

'I know. You act like it, though.'

'Why are you saying this now?'

'I just thought of it. You howl really good. That's what made me think of the stars. They looked brighter that night. They say that's how you find one in hiding. The stars are brighter when they howl.'

'Did your mum tell you lots of stories?'

'Yeah. She was a really good storyteller. Dad was too.' Thunder looked sad as he spoke.

WotS almost didn't want to ask, but her curiosity got the better of her. 'What happened to your dad?' she spoke softly as they paddled back to the shore.

'The thing is, I don't really know... He never came back from hunting one day. Star told me he was dead, but I didn't know if I should believe her... She lies to me and Comet a lot.'

'And now you've gotten lost... Everything seems to happen to you, doesn't it?'

'Sort of. Comet got a thorn stuck in his ear once. Does that count?'

'I suppose.' WotS' voice held a trace of amusement behind it. 'But it depends.'

'On what?'

'On everything.'


	26. Chapter 24: A Useful Insight

_Author's Note: I'M BACK! :DDDD Are you happy? Yes, you are. You know it. Thanks for staying with me! Cookies for everyone. Implied swearing and other things in this chapter. Be warned, it's not a very nice chapter._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

I have been telling you our group's story for quite a long time. But you need to know this. The only way you can truly understand this is to read it for yourself.

A large, wolf-like creature with patchy skin and fur so that shiny muscle was visible in places was curled up beside her pups. They'd been born only an hour or so ago. To her depraved, twisted eyes, they were perfect. One female, three males. The runt of the litter was a tiny little thing, small and helpless. He was just as strong as his litter-mates, though. She knew it had to happen... But not yet, surely...

Her spirits sank as a large male with a missing eyes and whose fur and flesh was laced with scars padded into her cell. In a harsh, raspy voice, he said, "The runt and the she-hound. You know the rules, b****."

"All too well, Red," she spoke meekly. She nudged the two he had indicated. They whined as he picked them up roughly, and his sharp fangs pierced the female's scruff. The mother of the pups couldn't help but whimper as blood ran down the tiny pup's body and dripped to the floor. That whimper earned her a whack on the muzzle that sent her reeling. "Quiet, you." Red turned and left with the two pups.

The she-hound shook her head confusedly and lay down. At times like these, she couldn't help but imagine what would happen to her precious pups...

The male... He'd be brought to the experiments. They always did that with the runt. Sharp things poking at him, a pair of cold-hearted scientists gazing curiously down at him, they'd tear him apart, picking at the remains like vultures. To tell the truth, the she-hound thought that the scient in the king's employ weren't really doing it to find things out. They just liked toying with different, creative ways to kill and torture, the sadistic monsters. Her little pup would be subjected to who-knows-what. It would not be pleasant. It never was.

As for the female... she growled bitterly to herself. There were precious few females of her species-one in each litter, at most. Therefore... all of them were used.

The she-hound sighed. She had to care for her remaining pups before they were dragged off to the army...

Meanwhile, another hellhound stood on a lonely precipice, looking down upon the castle. A demonic smile stretched across his face, too terrible to look at without going mad. He was large, even for a hellhound. The Smile Dog had needed time to think. He had sought the refuge of this cliff in hopes of being able to do just that. This was _his _place. No one else dared traverse the steep, winding trail to the tip of the outcropping. But he was strong. He was clever enough to find a safe way up. Now, he sat and let his worries envelop him. These last few days had been stressful. Rumors of a Star Wolf had been whispered here and there, and they set all the hellhounds on edge. The last time there had been a Star Wolf in the kingdom... that was around when he had been born. He let the memories come back as he closed his eyes...

The runt. That was a phrase he remembered. The runt of the litter. He'd been taken to the scientists and poked and prodded. They twisted his features and his mind, and they tore him apart and put him back together again. By the time he was full-grown, he was a monster. They'd been short on soldiers, so he'd been shoved into the army... The others at first avoided him. He was different. He was deformed. He was scum. Once he killed the Star Wolf, they began to think differently.

The Star Wolf's death... he relished that one. That didn't stop him from worrying about this supposed new one. The leader of an army has rather a lot to worry about.


	27. Chapter 25: The Battle of the Hellhounds

_Author's Note: Okay, I'm really sorry for disappearing again. My computer's internet was super touchy, and then it just stopped working for a while. DARN YOU, STUPID INTERNET! *shakes fist* Anyway, it's working again (for now), so here's another chapter. Hope you like it, as always._

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

The winged wolf stopped, her ears pricked and eyes unfocused as she concentrated hard on what she thought she had just heard. 'Can you hear that, Thunder?'

Thunder strained his ears, desperately willing them to make out a sound. There it was. Barks and growls, mixed in with a few yells that were unmistakably human. 'Yeah, I hear it, WotS.'

WotS thought as she listened. Here and there, she she could swear she heard a yelp of pain... _It's a fight!_ The realization clunked into place.

She turned back to the two humans behind her, who had stopped when WotS had picked up the sounds of the battle. "What did you hear?" asked Smash.

_A fight. __It sounds like dogs... But there are people there, too. Only a few, though. _

"Should we go?"

_I want to find out more about this. Stay or come with me, because I'm going no matter what. _She turned then to Thunder. 'Do you want to come with me? I'm going to go take a look at that fight.'

'Okay.'

The other two had nodded. They were a team; they had to stick together.

The sounds of the battle got louder and louder as they approached. Pewdiepie winced as he heard an agonized wail-whether human or canine, he couldn't tell.

WotS beckoned them to a large boulder they could hide behind. They peered around the rock and examined the scene.

A large pack of wolves was surrounding a group of four or five people. Upon closer inspection, the wolves all had ugly, patchy fur and many had scars. When WotS saw their eyes, she knew these were no wolves. They were gleaming with malice, a malice that no ordinary wolf could pull off. Every inch of the wolf-like creatures screamed evil.

The people were all males, except for one black-haired girl. The evil things were circling them, and every once in a while, one would take a bite at them. All of them bore wounds, and one's leg was bleeding heavily. He clearly couldn't remain standing for much longer. Then he turned, and WotS saw his face. Or rather, the mask covering it.

_Cry!_

She focused on the others and realized who they were. Tobuscus was there... And Lasercorn, Mari, and Sohinki. They looked quite as tired and haggard as Pewdiepie and Smash. '_We have to help them!'_

Tobuscus turned as they charged, and his eyes widened. "Help us!" he yelled.

WotS felt adrenaline rush to her muscles as she ran. She leapt onto the back of one of the beasts and tore into its skin and fur, gouging deep into its hide. The creature snarled, but it knew she had the upper paw. Instead, it dropped to the ground and started wriggling, trying to escape her grasp. Her hold on it was too tight. Her fangs guided themselves to the throat and pierced the life-giving vein. The creature shuddered, uttering one last growl before it went still. Quickly, WotS repeated the kill on another.

The fight was more evenly matched now, and WotS refused to let herself be cornered. Time slowed and everything blurred into a haze of blood and death. Most of the time, she simply felt nothing. These things were inherently evil. She felt no sympathy towards them. There were a few, though, who had a gleam in their eyes, the slightest glimmer of goodness. Those ones, she felt, had not been born this way. They'd been twisted and broken against their will until they were the depraved creatures she saw before her. They, surely, didn't deserve this fate. _Did they?_

Although she was doing well, the rest of the others weren't. Cry had collapsed, and Pewdiepie had taken up a position beside him, guarding his friend from further injury. There was, after all, only so much they could do with their fists. Thunder was doing surprisingly well, his claws stained with the strange orange-red blood of the creatures. He, WotS noticed, had yet to kill any of them, although he had wounded many of them. All of the sudden, the creatures retreated. They sank back into ragtag rows, cowering and groveling before one. One who seemed more powerful, more merciless, more evil than the rest. It turned toward the group, and WotS saw its horrid, deformed grin. She froze on the spot, her eyes bugged out and claws digging into the blood-soaked dirt. This was no ordinary beast. This was a monster.

It leered at her for a moment, then started stalking towards her. It spoke as it slunk forward, in a deep, growlly voice that made WotS shiver with fear. "Well, well, well. The rumors are true. The Star Wolf has returned. I thought I killed the last one years ago, and yet here you stand." He started circling WotS, still as she was. "But this isn't right. The Star Wolf is supposed to be brave, strong, courageous... and you cower before the mere sight of my face, the mere sound of my voice." He laughed a terrible laugh, baring his razor-sharp fangs. "You truly are a strange thing, you little freak. For if you are afraid of me... then you should not even consider trying to fight. For you will lose, lose horribly. I wouldn't want _that _to happen. It would be much too _easy _then. I am bored of the world, little star, and I had hoped you would present a challenge when I first heard about you. Now, though... I must confess myself disappointed._ (AN:If anyone gets that reference, they get a cauldron cake.) _You are nothing." He turned to the creatures behind him. "Let us leave these weaklings to nurse their wounds and hope that they present a more respectable challenge when we next meet." He loped to the head of the force and barked a command to retreat. As they topped a hill, the leader let loose a loud howl of victory. His troop laughed and howled with him.

WotS finally unfroze. Before she had a chance to do anything other than shift her paws a bit, a tall, thin figure stepped out from behind a tree and spoke quietly.

"I can help you with that." He was looking at Cry's leg, which was bleeding copiously, and looked already slightly infected.

WotS knew immediately who he was. Tall, thin, and wearing a polka-dotted suit, he had large, dark eyes and a rather dopey, pale face. _Splendorman?_

He looked around and saw WotS. "My brother does that! The mind-talking thing. He doesn't talk much to me, though."

_Why?_

"We don't exactly agree with one another on certain things." He indicated the hill that the creatures had left over. "He agrees with the king. I don't."

_They work for the king?_

"Yes, nasty hellhounds they are."

_Hellhounds?_

"Yes. They're evil to the core."

_Not all of them._

"Hmm." He turned to the others. "I can't force you all to trust me. But I will say this. If you do, I can assure you that I can save your friend there, and patch the rest of you up as well." He turned and started walking towards a sheer rock wall some way away.

WotS looked at the others. Tobuscus and Sohinki were both frowning, and Smash didn't look too happy either. The rest, however, looked open to the idea. She turned back and followed the tall figure. She heard a groan she identified as Tobuscus's, but didn't stop walking.


	28. Chapter 26: A Long Story

_Author's Note: You know how my internet's been bad lately? My dad's trying to fix it, so you should get more chapters soon. In the meantime, enjoy the LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE WRITTEN YET. Seriously, you'd better appreciate this one. I've lost much sleep over it. _

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! (except my OCs)

Lasercorn and Pewdiepie carried Cry. By the time the group of nine had caught up with Splendorman, they were panting and struggling to keep hold of the limp, masked man. Cry was murmuring deliriously, and his eyes were wandering beneath their lids. His leg smelled infected already, but WotS knew infection couldn't set in that fast.

Unless it was already hurt beforehand.

Evidently, Pewdiepie thought so, too. "Hey, did he have that before the wolves came?" he asked Lasercorn.

"No..." he replied. "It looks bad."

_Worse than it should._

Lasercorn looked around, confused. WotS barked at the same time she said, _It's the winged wolf talking here._

"Oh."

_Yes, I know, it's weird. Anyways, it smells __badly__ infected already, but it really shouldn't be. Not unless he's been hurt for at least a week, by the looks of it._

Lasercorn just frowned and shook his head.

Thunder looked around anxiously at all the new people. 'They're nice too, right?'

'Yes, Thunder.'

'Good.' Then he looked over at Cry. 'He looks kind of scary, though.'

'Why? It's not his leg, is it?'

'No, that isn't so scary. It's the... thing, covering his face.'

'It's called a mask, Thunder. He's just as nice as the others. He's just very shy. He doesn't like anyone seeing his face.'

'Wow. I've never met anyone that shy.'

'It's just the way some people are, Thunder.'

'I think, maybe, it's because us wolves don't have things like these masks. We don't know what they are. How could we want something that we don't even know exists?'

WotS cocked her head a bit. Young as he was, Thunder was wise beyond his years. 'Yeah...'

Thunder could tell that WotS was lost in thought again. She often was. The unfocused gaze, the absentminded word or two he'd occasionally get in response if he asked a question, the odd tilt to her ears... It was a sign that WotS needed to think. After this battle, she no doubt would have to do a lot of thinking. Thunder left her to it. He knew that thinking was important, to her just as much as to anyone else, or perhaps even more so.

A small unicorn, perhaps a little bigger than WotS, had been dogging Lasercorn's footsteps, but then it noticed the two wolves and trotted up to them. 'My name's Beam,' it announced. It sounded male, but WotS couldn't be sure.

'I'm Thunder, and that's WotS.'

'Cool! Can you do any awesome things? I can shoot lasers!" Beam took aim at a tree and blasted it to pieces.

_'Woah...' _Thunder oohed and ahhed as the unicorn blasted a boulder and another tree, and then shot a laser beam into the sky. WotS could tell he was older than she was, but he obviously wasn't very mature.

Splendorman had led them to a seemingly bare rock wall, but even as they drew nearer to it, WotS sensed that all was not as it seemed to be. A stretch of ordinary gray stone, it blended seamlessly with the other scenery around the area. To any outsider, as well as the group, it was nothing more than that. But Splendorman stepped up to a certain spot and pressed a long finger against it. A jagged bit fell back, and soon enough, a pair of green eyes peered through. "Splendorman?" asked a girl's voice.

"Yes."

"Come in." She pulled away from the hole, and a moment later, a large chunk came away, opening into a cave.

Splendorman stepped in for a moment. They heard him murmuring something, and the other one sighed and said, "Get in here, all of you."

WotS looked around curiously. The cave was huge, with a high ceiling and stalactites hanging down here and there. It was also inhabited by creatures of all sorts, wolves and people and bears and horses, and WotS swore she spotted a few birds winging their way through the stone forest above. It all had an organized look to it.

Pewdiepie and Lasercorn still held Cry, and the girl who had spoken before took one look at his leg and said, "I'll go get a healer." The girl had short brown hair, and her clothes were clearly not first-class; they'd been mended a few times and had definitely seen better days, by the looks of it. They also were a bit big on her. She turned and rushed off to a small group of people some way off to the right. They had been organizing their things, but when the girl spoke, a few of them grabbed a stretcher that looked like it had been made with spare cloth and some branches. When they arrived to greet the newcomers, they put Cry on the stretcher and carried him off to the area they'd come from.

Splendorman looked over at the rest of them. "He'll be all right," he said.

_Are you sure?_

"They've treated worse. He'll likely have a scar, but nothing that will cause him any trouble."

WotS turned around to speak with the group. _We need to talk._

Tobuscus nodded. Addressing Splendorman, he spoke, "I'm Tobuscus, and the others are Atom, Lasercorn, Sohinki, Pewdiepie..." He frowned. "I don't know what to call the rest of them. Cry is the one who got hurt."

Smash stepped forward. "It's Smash, and that's WotS and Thunder." he indicated the two wolves.

"Tobuscus and Cry..." Splendorman muttered to himself. "I think I know of a couple of people who'd be pleased to see you." He led them to the right, through a tunnel lined with doors and torches. "This is the residential tunnel; namely, where everyone lives. The newcomers are toward the back, and the ones who have been here longer are closer to the front." He pointed to a door to the left. "In there."

Tobuscus opened the door and stepped in first. For a moment he simply stood there, a shocked look on his face. Then he smiled and said, "You guys are safe!"

WotS padded in. The room was sparsely furnished; two thick grass mats with patched blankets and a table with two chairs was all that was there. Sitting on the mats were two familiar people. _Yamimash and Markiplier. _Mark had his right arm in a sling, and Yami's head was wrapped up in bandages. Both looked happy to see them.

"Yeah, we are."

"What happened? We got separated..."

"Well, what happened to you guys?"

_I think we need to get settled in a bit... then we can talk._ Since she knew they wouldn't know who was speaking, she barked and said, _It's the winged wolf._

Mark's eyebrows were raised, but he didn't comment. As everyone filed in and sat down on the floor, he pulled up the chairs for himself and his companion. Yami's eyes had a glazed, tired look to them, and he clutched at his head as he stood up. WotS reached for his mind and found only a constant, throbbing ache there, and perhaps... desperation? He wanted something very badly, and it was something he'd had before, had never really appreciated until it was gone... Some part of him had been taken, something he'd never get back. Curious, she searched a bit further and found the source of his unhappiness. Where a tongue had once been, there was only a gaping hole. He'd never speak again. Pity plucked at her heart, pulling her back to her body. Tobuscus was explaining something...

"...searched for you everywhere. We tried following your tracks, but they trampled away into nothingness. Once we'd given up on that, we tried to figure out where you might have been taken. We knew that those things worked for the king, since we saw them in that dungeon, so we tried backtracking through the tunnels. Before we got there, though, we found the SmoshGames crew... Except Joven. They told us he'd betrayed them, and almost gotten them killed. He's joined the king. We traveled together for a while. You know how far we were from the mountains when you guys got captured. Then we got into a fight with those hellhounds. These guys," he explained, nodding to Smash, Pewdiepie, WotS, and Thunder, "they heard us and helped us. Cry got his leg ripped open. They're taking care of him now."

Markiplier nodded when Tobuscus finished. "He'll be okay, right?" he asked.

"He should be. Now, what happened to you guys after you got captured?"

Mark cleared his throat and began:

"They knocked us unconscious. When we woke up, we were in cells in the dungeon. Apparently, they wanted information. They took Yami first. They interrogated him and, when he wouldn't give in, they tortured him. When he still wouldn't give, they threw a fit and cut out his tongue. Then they were going to move on to me. But it was late, and they were tired of asking questions. Instead, they decided to throw a little... party. Pretty much, they got drunk as f*** and passed out. Even the guard. I could reach out and get the keys from his belt. I got Yami, too. He was barely conscious, but we managed to sneak out. They were so drunk, they didn't even wake up when Yami stepped on one's hand. We made it outside by the tunnels, past the mountains. Neither of us were in very good shape, as they'd drugged us earlier. I fell while I was helping him up a hill. I wrenched my shoulder, but he hit his head on a rock. I fainted from the pain and the exhaustion and the drugs. When I next woke up, I was here, and feeling a lot better. We've been here for a few days, maybe a week."

"Wow. That sounds tough." Pewdiepie spoke up.

"I forgot to ask... what have you guys been doing?" asked Tobuscus.

As Pewdiepie explained their adventures, Thunder padded up to each and every one of the new people and sniffed at them, licking their hands and letting them pet him. 'They seem nice,' he concluded, sitting down next to WotS.

'I told you they were.'

'I know.'

"Now that we've explained everything, I have a few questions." Tobuscus spoke yet again; he seemed to be a spokesperson of sorts. "Does anyone have any cool powers or anything?"

_I think you know what happened to me, _said WotS.

"What about your pie gun, Pewds?" asked Smash.

"Well... you know that day on the mountain...?" he asked awkwardly, knowing that the reference to Strike's death would likely make him unhappy.

"Yeah..."

"I... sort of... dropped it."

_You dropped it!?_ Exclaimed WotS.

"Yeah... I kind of had other things on my mind, you know!" he leaned back a bit, getting defensive.

Smash sighed. "I thought something had happened to it."

"You're not not mad at me?"

"I am, I just know no one would appreciate a fight."

_You're right on that one. _WotS shook her head.

Dropping the subject, Smash asked, "What about you guys?"

"I've got Beam here," said Lasercorn. Beam loped forward and neighed. "He's a useful little guy. And guess what? He shoots lasers. He's not very good at controlling them, though."

"Cry's tears have healing powers," said Mark. "Except, he doesn't cry very often."

"I can make things explode," said Mari, who'd been nicknamed Atom. "It's really hard, though, and it takes a lot out of me. I'd never be able to do it twice in a row."

"What about Joven?"

The others exchanged glances before Sohinki spoke. "You know that he's... changed his mind. He didn't have anything. But he's smart. I'll bet anything that he's told the king everything he can about us."

_Let him. There's only one of him; there's many more of us. _Thunder was nodding off, cozily sandwiched between WotS and Beam. She glanced down at him and said, _I think it's time for bed._

"Yeah. Splendorman said that there's a couple rooms for you guys. Divide them up any way you want." Mark yawned and laid down on his mat. Yami curled up and closed his eyes.

There were three rooms for them. The biggest went to Pewdiepie, Smash, and Tobuscus. There was a fourth bed in there for Cry when he got better. Sohinki and Lasercorn shared a room with each other, along with Beam, who slept like a dog at Lasercorn's feet. Atom shared with Thunder and WotS, who was grateful to have another girl for company. As the winged wolf curled up to sleep, her last thought was of a certain leering hellhound, and she knew that though she was terrified of him, she was simply too tired to dream.


	29. I'm Back and other stuff

IIIIII'MMMMM BBBAAACCCKKKK! (again)

And I have news other than that, too!

I've started planning TWO fanfictions. One's a Slenderman one-shot, and the other one is a Web Shows/_Warriors_ crossover. Yes, I've made my (ahem, _our_) favorite YouTubers into CATS! You should be seeing them soon, so if you're a _Warriors_ or a Slendy fan, you can check 'em out.

_So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways_... Man, I love this song.

In other news... I've just started HIGH SCHOOL. Yeah. So, I might not be posting too much. Sorry. And on top of that, the half of a chapter I had typed up for _Fear_ is GONE, because my dad updated this thing and wiped out the memory. I have to type it all up again, and it likely won't be the same as it was.

Anyways, that's all for now.

Oh, wait! I wanted to suggest a couple fanfictions to you guys. One of them is on a site called _Potions and Snitches _and it's called _A Year Like None Other. _It's a HP fanfic with a Snape/Harry pairing, but it's not romantic. It's a father/son thing. It's my #1 favorite fanfiction EVER, so if you like HP, I highly recommend it to you.

The other two are here on this site. _My Obsession _by BeautysHarlequein (hysi) is a PewDieCry fanfic and it's the absolute, by far, best one I've ever seen. Seriously, if you like PewDieCry, You HAVE to read it. It's really descriptive and realistic, especially compared with some of the other stuff I've seen. And no, there's no sex or smut or anything. Yet.

_Bloodstained _by Spirit the Fire Dragon is a Zelda fanfic with the pairing of GhiraLink. It's more of a friendship thing, though. Seriously, no one's in love here, really. It's really deep and dark in places, and I just love it a lot. Spirit's currently doing a rewrite, but the first version is still there for your (and my) enjoyment. The chapters are long, in all three of the fanfics, so be prepared for some binge reading. :D

NOW I think I'm done.


	30. Chapter 27: Twisted Decisions

_Author's Note: Hey, you stuck with me for this long? Thank you! Your deserve a thousand cookies. And a hug. *hugs* Anyways, I finallly finished this one. I think it's the longest one I've written yet, so you can think of it as kind of a 'sorry' for not updating for so long. I'm pretty proud of this one, especially considering the fact that school's back in session. Anyways, enjoy!_

DISCLAMIER: I own nothing!

The man blinked as he found himself in a horribly familiar place. The grass swaying in the slightest breeze, the rock rising above him and falling below, that gnarled pine to his left... Everything was just the same. Frost glittered and crunched as he shifted his feet. His breath rose in little clouds up towards the cold, distant stars. He shivered, glad he had a sweatshirt. He hadn't remembered it being so cold. Then again, he'd been running long and hard that night, up and up... His gaze shifted to a certain spot on the edge of the cliff. If he were to look, would...?

He slowly and deliberately stepped forward, up to the highest point in this little mountain clearing. Taking a deep breath, he peered tentatively over the edge.

Nothing lay at the bottom of the steep, jagged wall of rock. He sighed, though with relief or despair, he did not know.

A rustle in the frozen grass made him whip around. In his haste, he stumbled back, and his feet slipped off of the edge of the cliff. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited for the swooping feeling and inevitable, sickening crunch as he fell to his death.

Instead, a hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. As he ungracefully regained his footing, a voice spoke. A male voice with a rather disturbing note in it, though it was calm and subdued at the time.

"Watch your step."

The man's head snapped up. He'd know that voice anywhere... And indeed, here he was. The person standing before him was a tall, skinny individual with a disgustingly distended grin and burned, shrunken eyes. His face was a pale white, which contrasted with the long, tangled black hair framing his distorted features.

"Remember me?" asked Jeff.

A haze of fury clouded The man's gaze. This was the one who had killed his best friend. He deserved to die a slow, painful death.

Jeff seemed to be able to tell what the one facing him was thinking, as he took the smallest of steps back. "I see you do." He took a long, bloodstained knife from his pocket and offered it, handle first, to him. "Go ahead, then. Try and kill me."

Sensing a trap, The man hesitated.

Jeff laughed. "Wise, Smash. Not all challenges are to be answered." He put the knife, gleaming in the moonlight, back into his pocket.

Smash frowned. "Why did you save me?"

"Because it was the right thing to do." Jeff shrugged.

"Oh, and you have such a history of doing the right thing," Smash scoffed.

"I only did what I was told to do, Smash. You cannot condemn me for that."

"You were told to kill Strike? What, does your _master_ have some sort of grudge against him?"

"No, I was told to kill you all. You would be dead by now, if I had not been called back."

"Well, then why not let me fall just then?"

"That would be counterproductive."

"How?" Smash felt as if he were being led in circles.

"I need you alive."

"Why do I need to stay alive? Did your _master_ tell you that, too?"

Jeff shook his head slowly. "The king wishes you dead. I speak of only my own thoughts."

For a moment, the only noise was the sound of the wind, which had risen to a mournful moaning through the trees below. Then Smash spoke, quite confused and thoroughly fed up with being stuck here with Jeff. "Look, what's going on, anyway?"

"You're dreaming, Smash. Although a fall like that would only have woken you up, I had to speak with you first."

"Well, now I get it," he shot back. "The real Jeff would have let me fall."

Don't be so sure of that." With that, Jeff turned and left down the mountain trail.

And left him alone there, thinking.

_Don't be so sure of that..._

Far away, in another world, another dream, a winged wolf flew through the night sky. She knew immediately, unlike Smash, that she was dreaming. It was strange, she thought as she bounded through the clouds, that a dream should come to her tonight. On top of everything that had happened, she'd thought she was just too tired. If she was dreaming now, it must be important. This was not an idle vision of an ordinary night. It simply felt too real.

A bright little twinkle of light shone in front of her. She raced towards it, skimming the fluffy tops of the clouds and ignoring the wetness that collected in her fur from flying through the wispy, insubstantial things in her haste.

The light grew bigger and bigger, but it seemed it dimmed as it grew, dividing into a cluster of shimmering speckles in the shape of a winged wolf. It stood on a cloud, and it beckoned her to it-no, _him. _A dim mist of memory that she had not realized was there suddenly crept into her conscious mind. It writhed and twisted, grappling for an answer, but all it found was the knowledge that this wolf was very, very important. A name burst from the murky fog: _Star._

Star flicked his tail once more, and then spoke in a strange, ethereal voice.

_'Come. It is time for the telling of the past, as was done in the time of the ancients.'_ He turned and lifted off, into the night sky. Wordlessly, WotS followed.

As they flew, others joined them-like Star, they were made of those bright shining specks of the night, transparent but not entirely nonexistent. It seemed as if they were from another world, half in and half out, like reflections seen in water. (AN: I just remembered, this quote came from _Eldest _by Christopher Paolini. This is his magnificent phrasing, not mine.) No names came forth in her mind from them, but she sensed they all knew who she was. The way they urged her onward with a nod or a flick of the tail, she could tell they were inducting her into some sort of ceremony. She felt nervous, but only because she had not the slightest idea what she was doing. _What if I mess something up?_ She was sure, however, that none of the Star Wolves here bore her any ill will.

Through the thickening clouds, she saw the looming mass of a thunderhead that seemed to be their destination. She swallowed anxiously as the roiling grayness enveloped her, sure she was about to be torn apart by a ferocious storm. She relaxed when she realized only a gentle breeze blew at her shoulders, urging her onward.

An island floated in the middle of the great thunderhead, which, she realized, was only an illusion to hide this sacred place. No lowly thrush or adventurous bird of prey would find this. It was only known to the Star Wolves, and perhaps it only existed to them, as well.

The island seemed to be a large, misshapen lump, which separated into two as soon as she got closer. One was bigger than the other, and it seemed to be a home of sorts, with cozy dens in caves shaped by the natural forces and the strong, clear scent of these otherworldly creatures. The other island was a ceremonial place, with strange symbols etched into the ground and a mysterious cave that filled half of the little patch of earth floating above the clouds. It was this isle that they landed on.

The cave was dark inside, save for a hole in the roof that allowed for a patch of light to illuminate the place. All of the star wolves filed into the cave and sat down in a circle around the beam of light. There were not many, perhaps fifteen or twenty in all. Star nodded to WotS, glancing at the moonlight in the center of the gathered wolves to indicate where she ought to sit.

Once everyone had found their place, Star spoke to her. 'Welcome, little one, to the Moon Cave. Here is the place that we often come to discuss, to debate, and to decide. It is also here where long-lost ceremonies were once conducted, long-crumbled traditions once followed. I am Flaming Star, the leader of these wolves. It is our task to guide you, to help you and point you in every way we can, towards the banishment of the evil that has plagued this world for far too long.'

Nobody spoke, so WotS tentatively opened her mouth and said, 'Flaming Star, how am I supposed to do that? I don't even know what's going on, really.'

Flaming Star nodded in understanding. 'I know you are not familiar with what has been happening in this world, little star.'

The name made her jerk back in fear. 'Why did you say that?' She searched his gaze suspiciously, but saw only wisdom and kindness, and a trace of confusion.

''Little star'? It is simply a phrase one uses to refer to one younger than them that they care for. Why does it bother you?'

'It's just that... Someone said that to me, just yesterday. I thought it was meant to mock me, demean me.'

Flaming Star nodded slowly. 'Yes, it seems he thought we had already spoken with you. He thought it would cause a further reaction to hear such a term coming from him. Somehow, I don't think it did.' He cocked his head and allowed a tone of amusement to veil his voice. Then he straightened and looked at her seriously once more. 'However, this was not the reason I summoned everyone here. Like I told you, it is time for a Telling.'

'A Telling?'

'Yes. We will explain everything to you, but in the end, it will be your choice whether to accept our gift or not.' He cleared his throat and began.

'Far into the past, in the beginning of an age that we have all long since forgotten, the Star Wolves came to be. How or why is not clear, but it has always been known that we have multiple lives, though they do not exactly come one after the other. When Fate decides we should return to the earth, the return we shall. If Destiny determines we should ascend to our heavenly home, then we will fly away to this place until they wish us back again. On and on our lives go, stretching our memories until gaping holes open in them. It is through these holes that evil seeps, infecting the mind with horrendous thoughts that burn away the memory like acid until nothing but the evil remains. It is this way that the first hellhound came into being, a Star Wolf that rotted away from the inside. He fled and hid in a dark cave, and turned the caverns depressing and drear so that all who entered there would forever be lost within the crushing sadness of the blackness of their own souls. When he emerged, he was a monstrous creature, a beast that killed and devoured all and left a swath of devastation in his wake. He found a mate just as evil as himself, and within his foul home, they spawned many others just like them. These were the first hellhounds, and they destroyed without mercy and without restraint, tainting the once-great land. And then... _he_ came.' A dark look passed over his noble face, and despite knowing that he had no intention of harming anyone, WotS shivered.

'Who is 'he'?' she asked.

'The one many know as the _king_ of the living realm.' He snorted with derision. 'His power, though strong, is a false one...

'He came and he found a world whose people and animals were shadowed by a nameless fear. He used that fear, twisted it and warped it to fit his own wants. He took control of the hellhounds and used them as weapons against the people. He told them he would have them killed, every single last one of them, unless they joined him. Most obeyed. The few who didn't, well...' He made a quick slash in the dirt floor with a claw. 'He kept his promises.'

'He especially loved to recruit scientists. He saw much potential in hellhounds, potential for greater strength and power, and to make them ever more frightening. For this is the true weapon of a hellhound: _fear. _Without fear, those depraved beasts would cease to be so strong. Without fear, they fade to little more than shadows. Without fear, they are nothing.

'Of course, we beasts of the skies did not stand by idly and allow our world to fall. We fought them, fought them long and hard, and we won, many times. For a time, the land was in a state of suppression, shadowed by war and crushed by the weight of suspicion and anxiety that hung over their heads, a constant reminder that they could never be at ease. But still, we gave them hope. And hope will be the only thing that can defeat those demons, for hope is the only thing stronger than fear.

'We battled and slew many, but there were always more, always more... And eventually, they banished us to this repressed state, to watch but unable to help. Finally, I was the only one left, stranded on the earth while my companions watched from the skies. I had to run and hide and flee many times from the monstrous beasts, much more than I'd care to admit. I remained in this way for many long years, trying my best to help, but knowing that I could not truly do much of anything while I was the only one of us left.

'One day, I conceived of a plan to sneak into the king's castle and possibly steal an experiment report or two, since as you well know, knowledge is the greatest weapon of all. I found my way in through the underground catacombs and paths to the dungeons, which are very close to the laboratories. I disguised myself as one of them and followed a unit in, slipping away just as we entered the prison block. In the laboratories, there were many things, disgusting, revolting things that make the skin crawl and chills run down your spine. I did do what I set out to do-that is, take a few lab reports, but as I was sneaking away, I heard a voice call out to me.

'It was a thin, weak voice, one that sounded as if it had been starved and beaten for so long, it is all it remembers. All it said was, 'Is anyone there?' And I had to help the depraved thing. It did not sound like a hellhound or any other monster from the underworld, but rather similar to a human.

'The poor creature was curled up in the corner of a cell near the labs. Here, let me show you...' And his mind touched hers, strange yet familiar, full of strength and nobility, a mind which had seen so much that most had crumbled to forgotten shadows. But the memory he showed her was just as vibrant as something she could have seen in the real world.

A lean, starved figure was indeed curled up in a corner. It had only tattered rags for clothing. Its skin was as pale as the moon, and a large, black pair of eyes gleamed from its thin, drawn face. Despite its pitiful condition, the creature had an air of friendliness about him. A pang of her own memory lanced through his, a memory of the same face, no longer stretched thin, but instead worn by a past he could not escape, and smiling kindly at she and her companions. She pulled away from his mind in shock. 'Splendorman!?' she barked.

'Yes,' Flaming Star replied calmly. 'I helped him escape, and in return, he promised he would help me with what I wanted for the world. He created the rebel organization that is housing you. As I understand it, they've caused more than a few problems within the king's realm. We remained friends for a long time, and I like to think he still misses me.' Nostalgia clouded his gaze for a moment. Then he continued with his tale.

'However, Splendorman's "escape" infuriated the king. From what I gleaned from the lab reports, he had been a prototype of sorts for a new creature they were trying to create. He raised the price on my head ever higher, sure that I was behind it somehow. People, ordinary people with no true cause to hate me, began searching for me in hopes of peace, sure that my death would bring just that. By this time, I was desperate for something, anything to go my way. And desperate things can be reckless.

'Eventually, they cornered me. The pack that had been chasing me for hours upon end finally trapped me in a clearing with trees too tall to fly over in my exhausted state and undergrowth too thick to escape through. They decided to take me to the king for interrogation and execution. Once I got my strength back, I ran, faster and farther than I should have been able to, for I let that one inescapable thing take over. I feared these creatures. And because of that, they would always be stronger, always faster than I could ever hope to be.

'One of them caught up to me- apparently, he was rather young, and he'd been a test subject for the scientists before he'd been recruited. I could tell by the horrid smile slashed into his face, perhaps a joke to the scientists. I fought the grinning demon as hard as I could, but it was abundantly clear that he would win. And eventually, he did kill me. As my friends and family welcomed me back at last, I could only watch in despair as Smile howled his victory over my body, sure that we would never challenge them again.'

A long pause followed Flaming Star's tale. WotS swallowed and spoke quietly, 'So, then, what am I supposed to do?'

'That is where you come in. Your appearance caused quite a disruption in the king's perfect little universe. He believes you and your companions are the ones destined to wipe him and his kingdom out.'

'Aren't we, though? Why else would we be here?'

'Ah. But that is _your _decision_._'

'Whether or not to kill the king?'

'It is much more complicated than that, but I suppose that is the general idea. You _do_ have a choice, you know. It is hard for many to realize this, but there is always a choice.'

'...I see.'

Flaming Star tilted his head ever so slightly to the left. 'No, I don't think you do. But the understanding will come later. For now, you simply need to choose.'

'Choose what?'

'Whether or not to accept the honor and the burden of that which you seem set on doing.'

'What, killing the king?'

'Yes.'

WotS' head reeled. She was going to kill the king anyway, wasn't she? Why would accepting the task make a difference? 'I...I suppose.'

'You suppose? You must understand, this is quite an important decision. The lives of many may rest on it. Are you sure, WotS?'

'Yes,' she said more firmly. If this was her fate, then accepting it would be much easier than defying it. 'I'm sure.'

Flaming Star regarded her with a shrewd look in his eyes for a moment more, and then spoke. 'Then come.' She followed him into the clearing outside.

She stood as directed in the center of another circle etched into the ground. Flaming Star was directly in front of her. He spoke in a powerful commanding voice.

'I call upon the stars to look down upon this young wolf as we induct her into our ancient tribe. She has fought valiantly for your approval, and I seek it as a sign that she will be welcomed.'

Nothing happened for a moment. Then, a star came shooting across the night sky and landed between them. It was a beautiful thing, full of contradictions and constantly changing and swirling. She could watch it forever.

Flaming Star gazed into the strange light of the glowing star. He seemed to reach a conclusion, for he nodded to the star. It floated upward to shed its sacred light on the ritual.

'The stars have shown their blessing. You have earned the right to be one of us, both in our eyes and in theirs. Henceforth, you shall be known as Shining Star. Bear your name well, young one, and the Star Wolves will always come to your aid should you truly need it.'

As he spoke, the star floated down to a spot right above her head. As soon as Flaming Star had finished his words, it fell inside her, burning a path of fire and ice straight down to her soul. It shone there with a radiance that seemed to refresh her spirit and her mind, and washed away all her worries in one fell swoop. A state of peace and strength suffused her body, and for the first time since arriving here, she felt completely content.

Flaming Star nodded respectfully to her, and she bowed her head. Then he rested his chin on her forehead and spoke gently, 'Sleep now, little star, and when your wake, may you face your fears with courage and walk with faith in darkness.'


End file.
